9,020 returns filed under voluntary tax compliance scheme, NA told

ISLAMABAD (Staff Report) - The National Assembly was informed on Friday that 9,020 returns had been filed under the voluntary tax compliance scheme and an amount of Rs. 550 million had been deposited as a result of the documentation of working capital worth Rs. 85 billion.

During question hour, Parliamentary Secretary for Finance Rana Muhammad Afzal Khan told the House that as per estimates a large number of traders would avail this scheme.

Replying to a calling attention notice moved by Asiya Naz Tanoli and others regarding meagre pensions of the employees of Employees Old-age Benefits Institution and corruption therein in recent years, Parliamentary Secretary for Inter-Provincial Coordination Shafqat Hayat Khan told the House that the government is taking steps for the welfare of workers.

He said the government had released 835 million rupees for this purpose.

Speaking on points of order, members said that success of the PML-N candidate in by-election in Peshawar had proved that the people hate the politics of allegations.

Those who spoke on points of order included Talal Chaudhary, Nasir Iqbal Bosal, Iftikharul Hassan, Tahira Aurangzeb, Muhammad Safdar, Munir Azhar, Maulana Amir Zaman, Kiran Haider, Maulana Qamaruddin, Surriya Asghar and Raja Javed Ikhlas.

Speaking on Panama Papers issue, Muhammad Safdar said assets of his family had already been declared and that he had not concealed any assets. He accused PTI Chairman Imran Khan of undertaking the character assassination of an elected member of the National Assembly through the media.

He added that he was ready to present himself before any inquiry.