ISLAMABAD (Kashmir English): The Government of Pakistan has started considering a new strategy to strengthen the economy by transferring funds of overseas Pakistanis from foreign banks back to the country.
According to a private TV report, it was agreed in recent high-level meetings that due to the current global situation, especially the tensions after the US and Israeli attacks on Iran, overseas Pakistanis want to transfer their wealth to safe places, and in this context, Pakistan can be a suitable option.
According to government sources, approximately 20 billion dollars of Pakistanis are currently in the Middle East and Europe, which were declared in the 2018 and 2019 amnesty schemes but have not yet been transferred to the country.
Under these schemes, 82,889 declarations were submitted, from which the national treasury received 194 billion rupees in taxes.
Now, the government is working to make the Roshan Digital Account scheme more effective and attractive to bring this capital to Pakistan.
An important proposal under consideration is to allow not only overseas Pakistanis but also citizens of other countries and foreign companies to invest in this scheme.
Along with this, it has also been proposed to include people living in Pakistan to ensure dollar savings at the national level.
To activate the real estate sector, the government intends to provide a major facility to overseas Pakistanis, under which only 10 percent tax will be collected on property purchases from individuals residing abroad.
Funds transfer from foreign banks
However, officials have clarified that these incentives will only apply to funds transferred to the country through legal channels, while illegal or black money will not benefit from this scheme.
It is expected that these measures will be included in the budget for the upcoming fiscal year or will be implemented through a presidential ordinance before that.
Experts say that if the government succeeds in bringing this 20billion dollars into the country, it could prove to be a major breakthrough for the economy.
