2.38 million rich Pakistanis don’t pay taxes

Over two million wealthy Pakistanis live in palatial houses, possess arms, drive luxury cars, travel abroad and hold multiple bank account, but don’t pay their taxes, said a media report.

There are 2.38 million people in the country who are rolling in wealth, but do not figure on the tax roll at all, reported Dawn.

As many as three million people possess a National Tax Number (NTN), but only 1.4 million of them filed income tax returns last year.

The statistics were compiled by the National Database and Registration Authority.

An interesting fact is that there are 1.6 million people who frequently embark on international tours but do not pay a single penny as income tax.

The media report said that though prices of land are in millions of rupees in posh areas of Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi and Peshawar, “income tax officers don’t bother to trace the buyers of these plots and make them pay income tax”.