Well done, FBR! You have not only increased the number of tax payers in Pakistan from 0.5 percent in the past four years, but you have also single-handedly managed to reduce the FDI into Pakistan by 80 percent. Most of which is reduced due to the flight of investment from telecom companies, who were incorrectly targeted by FBR for collection of incorrect taxes.
It is worth mentioning that the telecom sector is one of the biggest payers of taxes to the government of Pakistan and one of FBR’s biggest customers. But after the way FBR and NAB started printing obnoxious and inconsistent articles in the media about the non-payment of this new “imaginary tax” a few months back, this resulted in the removal of 179$ million foreign investment from the telecom sector.
This is not the first time FBR is acting like this. All the people who pay taxes know that FBR is a spineless organisation that only pressurises its customers for collecting extra taxes. But it is the job of FBR to increase the number of tax payers in Pakistan, which stands at only 0.5 percent since 2002, ironically in a country that is the sixth most populous nation of the world. When FBR diverts from its main role and starts pressurizing the real tax payers, then it only results in the removal of investment or non-payment of taxes in the future by the tax payers, to avoid undue pressures from FBR.
I would like to recommend the government to please present the “Sitara-Imtiaz” medal on FBR for being the organisation to reduce the Pakistan FDI by 80 percent in three months, and with the printing of a single news item accusing their biggest customer of stealing “imaginary” taxes.
SHAHRYAR KHAN BASEER
Peshawa
