Daily Times

Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) Mushtaq Ahmad Sukhera on Friday said minimizing human involvement in the tax system through automation will reduce complaints by the taxpayers which is necessary for rapid economic development.

Taxes play a key role in making growth sustainable and equitable, especially in the context of the pandemic as more resources are needed to provide relief to the masses, he said.

FTO said that and efforts are underway to resolve complaints, fight tax evasion, discourage under-invoicing as well as over-invoicing, deter misdeclaration and check misuse of various import and export schemes, he said.

Talking to a delegation of Islamabad Industrial Association (IIA) led by its President Tariq Sadiq, Mushtaq Ahmad Sukhera said that many underdeveloped countries are still struggling to collect sufficient revenues to finance their development as a minimum of 15 percent of GDP in taxes is a must to meet the basic needs of the citizens and businesses.

Four thousand cases were resolved in 2020 and the business community received refunds worth eight billion rupees with the help of FTO, he said, adding that we can take up suo moto cases, send policy recommendations to FBR, and try to tackle root causes of problems for the benefit of all stakeholders. He said that eighty percent of cases are being resolved through mutual understanding while implementation of FTO orders by concerned departments is 87 percent, Mr. Sukhera added.