That the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) is working harder since the appointment of noted tax expert Shabbar Zaidi as its new chairman is a fact. He has been asked to meet Rs 5.5 trillion revenue collection target for financial year 2019-20. He is fully aware of the fact that a task can be big or small, easy or really hard - but it's never more than a job that needs to get done.

The incumbent FBR chairman, however, is required to fully appreciate the criticality of an integrated tax intelligence system in order to deal with the challenge of massive evasion in customs, income tax and sales tax in an effective manner. Moreover, he must translate some of his arguments that he has expounded through his books over a period of time into firm actions.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2019