Islamabad [Pakistan], August 11 : Pakistan's Federal Bureau of Revenue (FBR) has brushed off the rumours suggesting taxation on prize money received by ace javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem.
When stakes were high at the Paris Olympics in the men's javelin throw event final, it was Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem who raised the bar by breaking the Olympic Record with a mammoth throw of 92.97m in front of a jam-packed crowd at Stade de France.
He overcame fierce competition from the one he considers his "idol" India's Neeraj Chopra. Following his triumph, according to Geo News, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz announced Rs 100 million for Nadeem. Karachi Mayor Barrister Murtaza Wahab announced prize money of PKR 50 million for the athlete. The 27-year-old javelin thrower is set to receive PKR 2 million from Sindh Governor Kamran Tessori.
After the announcement, rumours started to surface on social media that Nadeem would have to pay tax on the prize money that he received. However, FBR spokesperson Bakhtiar Muhammad cleared the rumours by stating they were "baseless".
"Rumours of taxing national hero [Arshad] Nadeem's prize money are baseless. No tax will be charged on the prize money received by him," FBR spokesperson Bakhtiar Muhammad said in a statement as quoted from Geo News, adding that neither withholding nor income tax is applicable to his prize money.
"Income tax rules do not mention tax on prize money received in Olympic games. Nadeem is a national hero, and all possible cooperation will be extended to him. After this clarification, such baseless rumours [of taxing him] should be put to rest," the FBR official added.
Arshad bagged the historic gold for Pakistan with a throw of 92.97m, setting a new Olympic record and surpassing Denmark's Andreas Thorkildsen's mark from Beijing 2008. Grenada's Anderson Peters secured bronze with a throw of 88.5m. Neeraj settled for silver with a throw of 89.45m.
Arshad received a hero's welcome after arriving at Lahore's Allama Iqbal International Airport. His family and top officials including the provincial and federal ministers came to the airport to give Arshad a hero's welcome after his memorable triumph in Paris.
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