KARACHI – Shabbar Zaidi, Pakistan’s top tax expert and former chairman of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), has raised serious concerns over the revised Wealth Tax Statement introduced for the 2025 tax period. Under the new form, taxpayers are now required to disclose the “Estimated Current Market Value” of their assets. Zaidi argues that this amendment contradicts the fundamental concept of a wealth statement under Section 116 of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, and should be withdrawn immediately. Zaidi explained that the Wealth Statement is already a unique requirement of Pakistan’s tax code. “There is no such obligation in almost all countries, including India and the UK,” he said, noting that this distinction was also documented in his book Taxation of Non-Residents and further discussed by Justice Maqbool Baqir in the Qazi Faiz Isa case. According to Zaidi, the Wealth Statement is not wholly related to annual income. Increases or decreases in net wealth may occur through events unrelated to taxable income, such as gifts or inheritance. Therefore, compelling taxpayers to declare market value distorts the real purpose of the statement, which is simply to reconcile changes in wealth with declared income. He further noted that historically, the wealth statement originated in Section 22(4A) of the Income Tax Act, 1922, when officers were authorized to call for a statement of assets to…