According to the leaked files used by an international collaboration of editors to get information of properties in Dubai, Pakistan’s wealthy citizens individual between 17, 000 and 22, 000 components for USD 12.5 billion, it became clear on Tuesday. The leaked data, largely from 2020 and 2022, provides a detailed look at the hundreds of thousands of properties in Dubai as well as details about how they are governed or used. It was obtained by the Centre for Advanced Defence Studies ( C4ADS ), a non- profit organisation based in Washington, DC, that researches international crime and conflict.
The Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project ( OCCRP ), which coordinated an investigative project with media outlets from all over the world, received the data after it was shared with Norwegian financial outlet E24. Titled’ Dubai Unlocked’, the collaboration includes 74 partners from 58 countries.
The website reported that journalists from dozens of media outlets around the world were aware of the details of” an astounding volume of leaked property data” that included more than 17, 000 properties listed as belonging to Pakistanis until the spring of 2022.
According to the report, there are 17, 000 Pakistanis who are listed as owners in Dubai’s residential property, compared to 22, 000 according to academics based on the data and additional sources.
Further, according to them, apartments and villas may have been worth more than USD 10 billion at the start of 2022, but with the more than USD 2 billion increase in real estate prices over the past two years, Pakistanis ‘ residential properties in Dubai could now be significantly more than USD 12.5 billion.
According to Malik Amjed Zubair Tiwana, chairman of the Federal Board of Revenue ( FBR ),” If we have the information you are talking about, as well as the information on residence status, we will make sure those who are eligible to pay tax on Pakistan’s rental income or capital value are doing so,” the news portal was quoted as saying.
” We may have to change the law, and it may be sensitive,” said one politician, but we will do everything to stop tax evaders. The government has this in mind.
Because of the correlation between taxation and residence status, he continued,” citizenship has no importance in tax law.” ” We have been attempting to obtain information from Dubai’s immigration department in order to determine tax status, but it has not been successful.”
The resident Pakistanis ‘ taxed income is subject to the law in Pakistan, according to Ali Rahim, a former president of the Karachi Tax Bar Association. However, they can receive credit for any taxes they have paid abroad.
If assets worth more than Rs 100 million, Pakistanis who reside there for more than 183 days a year are required to value them at the current exchange rate and pay a 1 % tax on those assets. Both the Supreme Court and the High Court are contesting this law.
Pakistanis who are not citizens of Pakistan or who work abroad are only tax-exempt. They are not required to declare any assets abroad or file a wealth statement.
Dawn made it clear that the mere mention of a person in the data does not constitute financial crime or tax fraud in itself. The data does not include details like where to live, where to work, how to declare rental income or capital gains taxes, nor do they include any other information. In fact, several of the people who were contacted for comment on their properties claimed the tax authorities had been given their properties.
” But it does paint an astonishing picture of contrasts. Pakistan, a developing nation that is teeters on the verge of economic collapse, is prominently featured in the website’s database, despite the website’s claim that it is begging international lenders and friendly nations for lifelines in the single digit billions.
