Yasir Rashid

Tax evasion must be prevented by state agencies at all costs since no government and state can function without generating essential revenues to meet its expenditures. The statement was made by President Dr Arif Alvi while addressing a public awareness seminar organized by the Wafaqi Tax Mohtasib (Federal Tax Ombudsman) Secretariat.

The president said that it is important to provide convenience to taxpayers in every manner and that when the system of taxation is easy and transparent, more people will be willing to pay their taxes due to the state.” He further emphasized the importance of creating public awareness through outreach initiatives by the tax-collecting authorities. “We need to understand the importance of tax-giving and tax-collection,” he said.

“We need to have Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanisms for expeditious resolution of conflicts and disagreements. All the developed economies of the world have such systems to make the process of conflict resolution a timely and transparent one,” the president said. He appreciated the efforts of the Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) in resolving the disputes of various parties through ADR in a timely fashion.

“We need to educate the people on the effectiveness of ADR mechanisms so that they can feel free to adopt such methods for conflict resolution. We also need women ombudsperson for women complainants,” he said.

Punjab Governor Balighur Rehman also spoke wherein he thanked the FTO for its help in resolving the disputes of the business community. “Tax payment is a national responsibility of every citizen. Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) should ensure transparency and accountability in its systems and should deal with the taxpayers in a friendly way,” he added.

Dr Asif Mahmood Jah for his part said that the FTO has become a public-relief oriented department. “Outreach mechanisms have been made easier so that maximum people can benefit from its services. We have also established a special overseas Pakistanis grievances redressal cell to act on their complaints promptly,” he said.

Towards the end of the seminar, the president distributed cheques of amount refundable to the buyers of Suzuki cars who benefited from the scheme of reduction in taxes from 17% to 12%.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk