UAE hands over data of Pakistanis given residence permits – Newspaper

ISLAMABAD: The country's main tax machinery claims to have received data from Pakistani citizens who have obtained residence through investments in the United Arab Emirates in an attempt to hide their illegal wealth.

Data were obtained from the Dubai Land Department (DLD) at the end of a three-day meeting (October 8-10) in Dubai. Pakistan was represented at the meeting by the International Tax Secretary of the Federal Revenue Board (FBR), Sajida Kausar.

Well located sources said Dawn that the FBR international tax wing was analyzing the data and those identified with the correct addresses and accurate identification would receive notices for tax collection.

Dubai authorities have not yet provided information on those who have obtained iqama

However, the DLD has not yet provided data on Pakistani citizens who have obtained iqama (work permit) to hide their illegal wealth.

On August 22, the FBR had sent a letter to the United Arab Emirates seeking information on all Pakistani citizens who obtained iqama and residence through investments.

Sources said the Dubai meeting was a follow-up to the letter sent to the UAE authorities.

Taking TwitterFBR President Shabbar Zaidi said he was pleased to say that a very productive meeting had been held in Dubai from October 9 to 10 on the issue of information exchange under the double taxation treaty. “The Dubai Land Department will instantly provide details of Pakistani property owners in Dubai. The abuse of Iqama is also being handled, ”he tweeted.

The UAE law allows foreign citizens to obtain iqama on the basis of investment beyond a certain threshold. The issue gained importance in Pakistan due to information received from the United Arab Emirates in which 3,620 accounts have been reported to Islamabad. However, the number of accounts with substantial balance is negligible.

"We have sent all the data for exchange with the UAE authorities to obtain real actionable data," said a source at the FBR Dawn.

Previously, the FBR had also received data from the Federal Investigation Agency on the investments of Pakistani citizens in the United Arab Emirates, but issued notices only in 20-30 cases and recovered Rs400 million. The cases were carried out after the former president of justice of Pakistan, Siqib Nisar, had taken note of suo motu on the properties of Dubai.

One of the cases was that of the Prime Minister's sister, Imran Khan, Aleema Khanum, who paid Rs 29.4 million in taxes and a fine for hiding his property in the UAE.

According to the source, the FBR's international tax wing was analyzing the data provided by the DLD and it would take a few days to identify potential tax evaders, adding that the total number of Pakistani citizens would be known after a full data analysis. .

He said the FBR was interested in actionable data with true tax evasion potential. "We will only target medium to large investors."

The source, however, said there was a possibility of overlap in the residence data of the investments and those that have iqama. He said the FBR had no problem with Pakistani citizens who invest and do business in the UAE legally with legally remitted funds. "We are very concerned about people who have illegally diverted funds from Pakistan, have stationed them in the United Arab Emirates and are now hiding behind the iqama-based residential state," the source said.

According to him, Pakistan also agreed to give information about UAE investors to the Dubai authorities. However, there is no income tax in the UAE. Therefore, according to the source, Dubai may not be interested in obtaining information from Pakistan.

On February 13, 1993, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates signed the agreement to avoid double taxation and prevent tax evasion with respect to taxes. Historically, both countries have continued to maintain a vibrant exchange of information between them. The sigh of the OECD Multilateral Agreement on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Fiscal Matters (OECD-MC) has reinforced its importance.

In addition, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates have established an automatic active exchange of information on bank and financial accounts under a common standard of information: the Multilateral Competent Authority agreement signed under the MC-OECD.

Posted on Dawn, October 12, 2019