The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has begun receiving data of rich Pakistani tax evaders from the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) in compliance with IMF instructions to broaden the tax base.
To this effect, FBR has received data pertaining to property ownership, bank accounts, and luxury vehicles, of some 195,000 rich Pakistani tax evaders.
The taxation agency intends to bring these individuals under the tax net as their high standard of living indicate their income level despite them not fulfilling their tax paying obligations.
FBR Chairman Rashid Mahmood Langrial had previously stated that Pakistan’s top five per cent wealthiest population was operating outside the tax bracket.
The IMF has stressed urgent reforms in the Pakistani taxation sector to address FBR’s revenue shortfall and improve the country’s standard of living.
“Pakistan has been falling behind its peers in recent decades in terms of income per capita, competitiveness, and export performance,” the international lender said in its report.