Over 10,000 FBR officials fail to file tax returns

Over 10,000 employees of Pakistan’s top tax authority have been identified as non-filers of income tax returns in the last two years, Dawn has learnt from knowledgeable sources. This raises serious concerns about the effectiveness of efforts to document the economy and broaden the tax base particularly when the tax authority itself struggles to ensure its employees are on the tax roll in the tax years — 2022 and 2023. The trend of non-filing is particularly prevalent among officials below the grade-17 level across the country. Despite the high incidence of this issue, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has yet to take action against these non-compliant employees. It is worth noting that the total workforce of the tax authority stands at 25,000 nationwide. Of these, the officers above grade 17 are 1,700. The non-filers officers of grade 17 and above were approximately more than 500 in 2022. However, the number of non-filers in this category is still at 300 for 2023. Only 1,400 officers have filed their tax returns despite a special extension available to them until Dec 31. In the tax year 2022, there were over 500 non-filing officers of grade 17 and above. However, this number has seen a slight decrease to around 300 for 2023. Despite the special extension granted until December 31, only 1,400 officers have filed their tax returns for the tax year 2023. This highlights a persistent issue of tax non-compliance among higher-grade officers.