Pakistan: Economy Under Elites— Tax Amnesty Scheme, 2019

Ahmed, Muhammad Ashfaq and Malik, Ikram Ali and Nawaz, Nasreen (2022): Pakistan: Economy Under Elites— Tax Amnesty Scheme, 2019. Published in:

Abstract

The Tax Amnesty Scheme, 2019 (TAS 2019), needs to be read as a sequel to the Tax Amnesty Schemes, 2018 (TAS 2018), and so does this article. This article draws significantly on “Pakistan: Economy Under Elites – Tax Amnesty Schemes, 2018” – in title, analytical framework, and even the thrust of argument. Unlike TAS, 2018, which was triggered by the impending bulk inflows of offshore bank account information under the Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD) – Common Reporting Standard (CRS) framework, the TAS 2019 was prompted by the operationalization of the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act, 2017, via framing of the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Rules, 2019. The granting of the TAS 2019 during PTI government’s prime years despite its public opposition to 2018 was evidence of an unbearable amount of pressure that Elites Ltd can exact on ruling coalitions in Pakistan, and successfully. The below par outcomes go to vindicate the existing knowledge on the subject that compliance to tax laws; nay, any laws, is a function of state recoil and deterrence. The article forebodes that the perverse policy choice of tax amnestization is set to continue in the future.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Tax, Amnesty, Elite
• Subjects: H - Public Economics > H3 - Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents > H30 - General

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