The caretaker federal cabinet has taken both unpleasant and unpleasant decisions on one day by heavily hiking petroleum products second time in a month and by extending deadline of Tax Amnesty Scheme by another month to enable the largest possible people to declare their hidden and undeclared foreign assets by paying nominal tax and thus whitening the black money.

Following the federal cabinet decision, President Mamnoon Hussain promulgated an ordinance on Saturday night extending the deadline of the one time amnesty scheme initial deadline of which expired on June 30, 2018.

It is an appreciable decision which Caretaker Federal Cabinet meeting in Islamabad under Caretaker PM Justice ® Nasirul Mulk has taken in view of persistent demand from businessmen and industrialists and other categories of would be beneficial people for extension in the deadline to enable them declare their assets hidden in foreign countries.

One time Tax Amnesty Scheme was slow to take off but within last few days as the deadline approached the pace of the response kept increasing substantially on almost daily basis.

According to the reports in the media quoting the country’s main revenue generation and tax collection agency Federal Bureau of Revenue (FBR), approximately Rs 80 billion have been deposited as taxes under the scheme by June 28 which is quite appreciable as well as welcome for the resources starved caretaker federal government.

Though the caretaker federal government has no stakes in the July 25 general election except its mandate of ensuring holding of the polls in a free, fair, transparent in a conducive atmosphere in orderly manner but still it will be highly appreciated that if the unpleasant decisions like hiking POL products prices should be left for the next peoples elected government coming into power after the general election.

M.Z.RIFAT,

Lahore, July 1.