Shehbaz Warns Tax Officials: No Resistance to FBR Reforms Will Be Tolerated

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has issued a blunt warning to the Federal Board of Revenue, declaring that any resistance to tax reforms will not be tolerated and that corrupt or underperforming officials have no place in the institution.

Chairing a weekly review meeting in Islamabad, the prime minister directed the FBR chairman to accelerate the rollout of a "faceless" audit and assessment system, where tax officials have no direct contact with taxpayers. The warning came after the Inland Revenue Officers Association called for a pen-down strike, a call that was later withdrawn following intervention by senior officials. Shehbaz reminded staff that they had received a fourfold salary increase, along with cars and housing, and must now deliver results.

Officials briefed the meeting that the reforms had narrowed the estimated tax gap from 6% to 5% of GDP over three years, while 957 auditors recruited on merit had quadrupled the FBR's audit capacity. The government has separately decided to drop the idea of a new tax agency and instead amend the Civil Servants Act to allow compulsory retirement of non-performing officers. "These reforms are in the larger interest of the state and will continue under all circumstances," the prime minister said.

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