The Federal Board of Revenue has vehemently denied unfounded allegations levelled by a senior politician and aired on electronic media regarding tampering of tax record of certain individuals whose names have appeared in Panama leaks.
According to a statement issued here on Friday, the FBR considers the tax record of all taxpayers as a sacred trust and under section 216 of Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, disclosure of the information contained in the tax record is prohibited. The FBR has fool-proof automated processes for record maintenance. No individual can alter, edit or modify the record except as provided under the law and standard operating procedures. Record is stored in secure database and any access to the same is automatically recorded by the system. There is thus no question of tampering with the record in any manner whatsoever. The allegations are totally false and baseless and constitute an attempt to bring to disrepute a responsible national institution. The FBR expects that while issuing such statements our political leaders would refrain from unnecessarily implicating non-partisan organizations in political disputes.
It would be in best national interest if such allegations are retracted and FBR is allowed to continue performing its functions and duties.