Report: FT Correspondent:
ISLAMABAD– Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif chaired a weekly review meeting on the affairs of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), reviewing ongoing reforms, tax collection and measures to improve institutional performance.
The Prime Minister directed the FBR to accelerate reforms, reduce the tax gap and expedite the implementation of a faceless system in tax collection. He emphasised the effective use of technology, professional training, transparency and accountability, and ordered indiscriminate action against corrupt elements.
The meeting was informed that over the past three years, the estimated tax gap had declined from 6% to 5% of GDP. According to the briefing, the appointment of 957 third-party auditors had increased the FBR’s audit capacity fourfold.
Federal Ministers Ahsan Iqbal, Azam Nazeer Tarar, Ahad Khan Cheema, Muhammad Aurangzeb and Attaullah Tarar, among other senior officials, attended the meeting.
