ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue achieved several milestones as the country’s tax-to-GDP ratio crossed 11 per cent and the number of taxpayer is going to cross one-million mark for the first time.
This was revealed by outgoing FBR Chairman Tariq Bajwa, while addressing a ceremony held in his honour at FBR headquarters.
Bajwa also paid tributes to Board’s officers for their integrity, commitment and hard work, which helped him raise the revenue from Rs1,800 billion of two years ago to nearly Rs2,600 billion in the fiscal ended this year.
Highlighting the FBR’s performance in his tenure, he said, “For the first time in 10 years, we have achieved 11% tax-to-GDP which is indicative of the right trajectory in which the organisation is moving to make the country economically self-reliant.”
Bajwa said that one key area he keenly focused on was audit, adding that this had been almost dysfunctional three years ago, but it has been made fully functional during the last two years, with nearly 7000 cases being audited every year, and has a current target of over 70,000 audits this year.
The outgoing chairman also referred to massive tax exemptions of over Rs230 billion enjoyed by different sectors previously. He and his team at FBR were able to convince government to withdraw these exemptions so as to bring about uniformity in the tax culture.
Other outgoing members, including Shahid Hussain Asad, Sr Member Inland Revenue Policy, Muhammad Ashraf, Sr Member Operations and Shahid Hussain Jatoi, Member Administration, also spoke on the occasion.
