After ECP snub, caretakers leave FBR to elected govt

After the Elec­t­ion Commission of Pakistan (ECP) barred the caretaker government from moving ahead with its controversial plan to restructure the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), caretaker Finance Minis­ter Shamshad Akhtar said the restructuring roadmap approved by all stakeholders will be ‘operationalised’ by the elected government. The caretaker minister revea­led this plan during a televised address after the federal cabinet decided to restructure and digitise the tax watchdog, to which the ECP took an exception and asked the caretakers to stick to ‘routine’ and ‘non-controversial’ matters, which are “reversible” by the future government. The federal cabinet approved the restructuring and digitalisation plan to raise tax share in the gross domestic product (GDP) to 18 per cent within the next five years, i.e. by 2029, said caretaker Finance Minister Shamshad Akhtar about the cabinet decision.