The tax collection machinery is once again under the spotlight as it has missed the stipulated target, and is lagging behind Rs606 billion in the first eight months of this fiscal year.
The target for July-February was Rs7.95 trillion. This performance lacunae has many reasons, including an inconsistent approach from the FBR sleuths, a degenerated environment in terms of production and the sluggish trend that is forecasted for growth.
The IMF too is sceptical as it has lowered the country's growth estimate to 3% from its own earlier projection of 3.2%, irrespective of the fact that global economic recovery is on a sound-footing. A slump in exports and pestering political instability are other avenues that are detrimental to a promising economy, soliciting more than ad hoc measures to fix the fox in the woods.
The FBR, which is supposed to be an autonomous revenue generation organ, seems to be infected with meddling and blatant interference from the Finance Ministry. The unceremonious outposting of a grade-20 officer for her rightly questioning the finance minister office's irrelevant demands is a case in point, and hints at the specter of demoralisation that upright officers face in their call for duty.
Thus, it is no surprise that dedication to official chores takes a backseat as officers and lower staff feel content with shoddy work. It is also ironic that on one hand the government is in a revenue crisis, and on the other it has the audacity to expand the cabinet by inducting more cronies for the sake of political appeasement. That culture is prevalent as the donors are wary of corruption trends in the economy, and the lack of accountability that the system endures.
The FBR and other constitutional bodies, including the judiciary, should be free from interference and that is how we can overcome stagnation, parochialism and a sense of disgust in our nationhood. Generating growth, expanding exports and ensuring an attractive environment for foreign investors is the way to go, and not official egoism for flagging an elite culture.
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