ISLAMABAD: Rehmatullah Khan Wazir, Member IRS Operation Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), was appointed acting chairman of the tax collecting body on Saturday following the retirement of Dr Muhammad Irshad on Friday.

The farewell to the outgoing chairman was attended by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar along with Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Revenue Haroon Akhtar Khan.

Matters related to the performance of FBR in the outgoing fiscal year were also discussed on the occasion.

The finance minister was updated on the latest status of the collection of tax revenue. He was informed that final revenue figures were being compiled and a clear position would emerge in the next few days.

The finance managers of the country noted the shortfall in revenue collection in 2016-17 and discussed a strategy for the new fiscal year, which starts from July 1.

Meanwhile, the business community of the federal capital has criticised the FBR and termed it as a failing entity.

Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) President Khalid Iqbal Malik urged the FBR to introduce drastic taxation reforms in consultation with the private sector.

The current tax regime has failed to improve revenue collection and achieve annual targets, Mr Iqbal observed whiled addressing a meeting of the ICCI members.

“Despite applying all tactics and means, the tax authority has missed the annual collection target which was a cause of concern as it would create new problems for the economy,” he added.

He stressed the FBR should clear all tax refunds on an urgent basis as this would facilitate in improving the country’s falling exports.

He said the parliament had approved tax collection target of Rs3.62 trillion for 2016-17 while the finance minister had revised it downward to Rs3.52tr. The FBR reportedly collected Rs3.33tr till June 30, 2017 which showed the tax authority missed even the revised target, he added.

The ICCI members noted that the shortfall in tax revenue has surfaced despite the fact that the federal government had levied additional taxes and charged higher sales tax on petroleum products.

They approved a resolution that high tax rates and large number of taxes were the major hurdles in promoting tax compliance culture.

Published in Dawn, July 2nd, 2017