Daily Times

From the looks of it, Pakistan’s top tax authority has yet to learn the adage, “Charity begins at home.” Standing in stark contrast to its ambitious schemes about increasing the tax net, a startling revelation making rounds on social media claims over 10,000 of FBR’s employees have failed to file tax returns in the last two years.

No matter how loudly its mouthpieces may toot the horn of the program being rolled out to publicly name and shame non-filers, these details have cast a big question mark over the effectiveness of all such efforts to strengthen the tax base.

Why is it that the non-filing trend thrived far, far away from the radar of the FBR whose performance has become tainted overnight? Pakistan is often criticised for being slated among the countries with the lowest tax ratios, especially when its finances are forever fighting a battle for survival.

The whole country needs to thank the IMF for putting its foot down on revolutionising the system to fill the money gaps, which has for now resulted in the aversion of the downward trend. There are much-talked-about reports of the FBR surpassing the revenue collection target for the fifth consecutive month. But the uptick cannot continue for long.

Moving beyond the cursory, it has become apparent to everyone the inherent flaw in trying to meet tax targets by indirect taxation. The last few months have seen expert after expert tell the caretaker setup how it needs to tax the rich and protect the vulnerable exactly in line with the roadmap shared with the PDM government. However, these reforms to bring the untaxed income of the mighty can only be stressed when the tax authority addresses any challenges and emerges as a responsible, transparent force to reckon with.

Just like the political elite, our institutions too need to resist the temptation of quick fixes and establish a credible system that addresses the structural issues. *