ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shahid Khaqqan Abbasi has urged the chairman and other officers of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to expedite their efforts to broaden the tax base and take stern action against tax evaders and corrupt board employees.
According to the FBR sources, the prime minister paid a surprise visit of the FBR and met with Special Assistant on Revenue Haroon Akhtar and FBR Chairman Tariq Mehmood Pasha.
It is pertinent to mention here that in the absence of the finance minister, the prime minister is in-charge of the Finance Ministry. It seems that he has started taking care of the affairs of the Finance Ministry. During his visit, he also addressed the chief commissioners conference and asked them to work freely without any pressure. He also told them to catch the big fish and consult the government if they face any hurdle in the execution of their duties.
He assured the high ups of the FBR that the government is on their back and will fully support their actions. Prime Minister also invited them to move the suggestions and recommendations for the improvement in tax culture. He also directed to the chief commissioners that they took personally interest to bring the rich class and those people who have taxable income, in tax net and used data centers for this purpose. He lauded the past five month performance of the fbr in term of revenue collection and hoped that FBR will achieve the revenue targets set for the current financial year.