ZAHEER ABBASI

ISLAMABAD: Governor State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Tariq Bajwa said on Monday that so far $300 million as tax have been received under the Tax Amnesty Scheme launched on April 10, 2018 to legalize undisclosed assets and income of Pakistanis held abroad and home.

Responding to media persons’ questions after speaking as chief quest at an award ceremony of Citi-Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund, he stated that Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) had the data of local tax received under local tax collection. Bajwa further stated that rules of dollar dominated bonds are ready and are being issued.

He further added that current account deficit is causing problems in stability of exchange rate. Another official on condition of anonymity stated that suspicious transactions detected by Financial Monitoring Unit (FMU), operating in SBP, led to discovery of latest money laundering scam.

Earlier, speaking as chief Country fetches $300m as tax

so far: Bajwa

> from page 1

guest, Bajwa said that as inflation is now coming out of the bag and life can become more and more difficult for vulnerable people, role of microfinance has become more important to ensure that vulnerable people do not fall below poverty line. Benazir Income Support Program, he stated, has caused a dent in poverty but increase in inflation poses threat to the vulnerable.

The SBP has been taking measures to promote credit to the female segment of backward areas and has recently initiated a scheme with 5 percent fixed interest rate to provide loans to females of rural areas (backward) of Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan as well as of rural areas of Sindh and Punjab. He said that low-cost housing policy will also be announced soon as there is immediate need to construct ten million houses.

Tariq Bajwa said that credit to the farm sector with 37 percent increase touched Rs 964 billion and also there was a considerable increase in credit to small industries. He said the accountholders in the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) sector are 187,000 and their number is to be increased to half a million. He said steps have been taken and are being taken to opening of accounts for women in rural areas and those who do not have even ID cards can open an account on the national identity cards of their husbands or brothers.

He said enlisted SBP priorities are financial inclusion, Islamic banking, agriculture sector, SMEs and low-cost housing. “There is a need of hundred thousand housings in the country,” he added. He said that SMEs have been a very good example for addressing poverty issues.

The event was organized by Citi Foundation and PPAF for 12th CITI-PPAF Micro-entrepreneurship Awards ceremony.