Imran Khan best Pakistan could hope for, says ex-FBR head Shabbar Zaidi

ISLAMABAD: Former chief of federal tax body Shabbar Zaidi said Monday he highlighted the fact that funds were routed out of the country via legal channels claiming that at least Rs200 billion were managed to be channeled out.

Present today exclusively in ARY News program Power Play, the former chairman of Federal Board of Revenue Shabbar Zaidi he had written two newspaper articles on how this was being made possible with legal cover.

It was due to two laws passed by PML-N regime, he said, adding sarcastically that it was Nawaz Sharif’s present to the nations.

Separately on his presiding of the tax body in Pakistan, he said it was principally hindered by the people he was set out to collect the taxes from despite full support from the prime minister.

The former FBR chairman said he could not succeed in spite of the opportunity because people who must be taxed, would not want reforms in tax system to materialize it.

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I could not learn how many people were registered in the tax system even when I strived to get the data from the banks but failed at it, Zaidi said.

He said he even tried to use CNICs to register people in the tax regime but he failed at this as well as none of his tax reforms could perform in this system.

As I have operated with so many people in power positions, said Shabbar Zaidi, I have seen little people of the candor and sincerity of Imran Khan.

He said he was embarrassed that he could not perform and failed even when was entrusted with confidence of PM Khan.

People think it’s not illegal or sinful to consume or trade smuggled goods, Shabbar Zaidi said admitting he could not stop smuggling of goods and their blatant trade in the country.

It is due to our collective societal behavior that we fall behind in tax collection but I am supporting the incumbent prime minister as much as I can, Zaidi said. He said we must reform our collective attitude before we could see any reform in tax collections.