I have a layman’s view, but it is hard to understand that a country so rich, not only in natural resources, but in personal wealth displayed by the buildings and cars, has an empty exchequer? Are we the rich residents of a poor nation? The main issue seems to be the corruption factor. If we remove this, we would be able to become a stable and progressive nation. There is only this amount of wealth in a country, we can either circulate it in bribes and grafts or earn it legally and with dignity. Why is it so difficult for Pakistan and Pakistanis to step out of the quagmire of corruption?I will just mention one sector who is evading taxes which could bring us back to a normal country. There are at least 250 large buildings in Blue areas of Islamabad, each building has four to five floors and has at least 10 offices per unit in every plaza and every tenant is paying rent of approximately Rs 250,000, now we can easily calculate the amount of rent they collect. Are they paying wealth tax, or property tax? If they do, we could earn enough from only this revenue to get out of our deficit loans, but I am sure they are not.If they pay income tax at the rate of 20 percent per year, then total amount of income taxes would be 7,500 million but it is learnt that every building owner is paying only a few thousand rupees to the government as income tax because all these buildings are owned by powerful persons and politicians. While on the other hand people with no contacts and connections are paying 50 percent tax on a few thousands of monthly income, sales tax on every purchased item and utility bills.If we calculate the amount of income tax on all the buildings in Pakistan and businessmen, we could come up with Rs 6,000 trillion in taxes alone. It is sufficient amount to sustain a government. Our government can clear all foreign debts and can complete all the development works. If our government is sincere in recovery of income taxes, then first of all corrupted officers from the income taxes department and FBR should be terminated, and their ill gotten properties be confiscated filling our exchequers. I would request the Prime Minister of Pakistan that full income tax should be recovered from all wealthy persons and land lords of this Islamic country of Pakistan, so that we can develop this country and stop begging for help from foreign sources.RAJA GHAZANFAR ALI KHAN ADOWALIYA, Rawalpindi, June13.