This is apropos a Business Recorder editorial "The tax directory" carried by the newspaper on Tuesday. It is heartening to note that the FBR is planning to make public the names of non-filers of income tax returns including those from the business community, individuals, bank account holders, judges, chartered accountants, lawyers, consultants and other professionals through a tax directory to be published next month. The tax directory would also include names of NTN holders who are not filing their returns. This initiative by FBR is to name and shame the non-filers of tax returns.

The efforts of the FBR to bring as many taxpayers as possible into the tax net is a laudable step. However, in order to provide relief to the taxpayers, the FBR is also expected to publish its plans simultaneously to delineate ways and means with view to avoiding and reducing wasteful expenditure of public money on public sector organisations such as Pakistan Steel Mills, PIA, Ogra, Benazir Income Support Programme (as its name implies it is more political than a social contract) and Pakistan Cricket Board and similar other host of government institutions where billion of rupees of taxpayers' money is mercilessly spent without any benefit to the taxpayers.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2017