Reacting to a statement by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif that his family paid Rs 920 million in taxes in 1990, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Friday said it was a deliberate attempt by Nawaz to mislead the people.
Talking to PTI Secretary Information Shafqat Mahmood from New York where Imran is on a visit, the PTI chief said per FBR records, the declared income of Nawaz Sharif for the year 1990-91 was only Rs 249,537, upon which he paid a tax of Rs 51,318. Shahbaz Sharif had an income of Rs 271,638 in the same year, 1990-91, upon which he paid Rs 53,482 as income tax.
“Thus both brothers in total paid Rs 140,008 as income tax in the year they took money from Younas Habib. Where has the figure of Rs 920 million that the Sharif family had supposedly paid as tax came from,” Imran said. Imran said there were two notable features of the statement by Nawaz – first he was mixing together sales tax, central excise duty or other corporate taxes that are not paid by individuals but by corporations.
“There is no way of verifying whether the Sharif’s companies paid this amount of corporate tax or not. What is equally mystifying is that if indeed the Sharifs paid Rs 920 million in taxes, why were the incomes of Nawaz and Shahbaz Sharif so meagre. They have both declared approximately Rs 500,000 as their combined income for the financial year 1990-91. If their family-owned companies were paying such heavy amounts in corporate taxes, where has the income gone?” The PTI chairman said after flip-flopping on the issue of investigation by FIA and Nisar Ali Khan criticising the Supreme Court, Nawaz was now ready for investigation by it. “This is a good development but it is important that FIA’s terms of reference are wide enough to allow a thorough probe into irregularities in the Mehrangate Scandal. While Nawaz is calling Younas Habib a criminal, was it not the first Nawaz government that gave him a licence to launch Mehran Bank?” Imran said. He said it also needed be investigated if Mehran Bank gave Rs 200 million to the Sharifs and if it was still unpaid? The collusion between the Sharifs and Younas Habib should be an important part of the investigation by FIA, Imran said.
Imran distorted Nawaz’s tax payment facts: PML-N
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) spokesman Senator Pervaiz Rasheed on Friday said PTI chief Imran Khan distorted facts regarding tax figures presented by PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif. In an interview on Thursday, Nawaz had claimed that his business concerns had deposited tax of more than Rs 920 million in the government exchequer in 1990. Rasheed said Nawaz’s statement was based on truth and if Imran Khan did not accept its correctness, he should approach the court and “we will present documentary proof and will prove him wrong”. He said Imran, who objected to the taxes of Nawaz, lived in a house spread over 300 kanals and he should tell the nation how much tax had he paid in 1990. Rasheed asked Imran what activities he was engaged in on the day the Muslims from all over the world were stoning the Satan during haj.