Real estate owned by overseas Pakistanis: UAE authorities do not share info

ISLAMABAD: The tax authorities of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have shared only twice financial information including bank accounts of overseas Pakistanis with the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).

Sources told Business Recorder that the UAE tax authorities had not shared information about the real estate owned by overseas Pakistani resident in the UAE with the FBR. The immovable property details are not shared with the Pakistani tax authorities. However, financial information such as bank accounts details, stocks/shares/trusts of overseas Pakistanis are shared by the UAE authorities.

So far, the authorities of the UAE have shared only twice the information about the financial transactions of overseas Pakistanis.

Owned by resident Pakistanis: FBR starts taxing hundreds of foreign properties

The Directorate General of International Taxes FBR is coordinating with the UAE authorities regarding all incoming and outgoing Exchange of Information on Request (EOIR) and spontaneous Exchange of Information (SEOI).

Under the exchange of information laws, the information requested by a foreign jurisdiction through an inward EOIR may be directly available within the FBR (information on the tax return, amount of taxes paid, etc) or with a third party such as banks, an employer or any other organisation.

The common types of information included identity details of owners/beneficial owners of accounts, companies, firms, trusts etc, income tax returns submitted to foreign jurisdictions and details of tax paid abroad or residence status; property owned or used; income and expenses; accounting information such as financial accounts, balance sheets, profit and loss accounts; banking information such as bank account balances and transaction; directors and shareholders of companies; company registration and incorporations details.

It is worth mentioning that the concerned Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) Zones have taken necessary action against the income tax return filers, who declared rental income from foreign properties held abroad.

There are hundreds of such cases of “foreign source immovable property income” in foreign jurisdictions such as the UK, the USA, Turkey, Spain, Canada, and the UAE which are under process, the sources said.

However, the FBR has exercised its right of taxation of such foreign rental income in Pakistan and the owners of such properties are entitled to take tax credit of tax paid in the foreign jurisdiction in their income tax returns.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023