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By APD writer Muhammad Sohail
**ISLAMABAD, March 1 (APD) -- **Overseas Pakistanis annually invest at least eight billion US dollars in the local realty sector, given its attractive rate of returns, a Pakistani minister said on Thursday.
Rana Muhammad Afzal, minister of state for finance and revenue said that overseas Pakistanis are remitting around 18 billion U.S. dollars every year out of which an estimated amount of eight billion to 10 billion US dollars is parked in the real estate industry.
The minister, however, criticized the massive investments in the realty sector, saying “the government and independent experts have reservations on the money invested in this industry as most of the money parked in this segment of the economy is undocumented”.
The minister said the real estate business is not paying its due share of taxes and “this is a major concern and it is not acceptable”.
He advised concerned stakeholders to focus on providing low-cost housing schemes for a common man and assured that the government would provide support in this regard.
On an objection raised by builders and developers that tax officials are harassing them by raising audit objections, the minister said the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has developed a digital database and conducting the audit on the basis of forensic evidence.
Remittances from roughly nine million overseas Pakistanis working in different countries played a vital role in Pakistan’s economy and balance of payment sheet.
Most the overseas Pakistani preferred to invest in the real estate business considering secure, reliable and with lesser risks.
(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)
