LAHORE, June 14: PPP information secretary Qamar Zaman Kaira has said the government should evolve a mechanism to check tax evasion in order to accelerate the revenue generation.
He however cautioned that such pursuit should not be used as a tool of “intimidation and harassment”.
“The proposal in the Finance Bill 2013-14, authorising the Federal Board of Revenue to have an access to the accounts of the account holders, will backfire if a transparent and just mechanism is not evolved and as a result the economy of the country will be hurt badly,” he said in a statement here on Friday.
Kaira said the chances of using the proposed authority by the FBR officials for their personal gains must be curtailed in absolute terms failing which tax evasion would touch the extent of unimaginative proportion. He said the FBR should maintain a balance between the right of privacy and the requirements of the law which indeed was very thin. “The unguarded handling of the subject may fail the very purpose for which the scheme is being launched,” he added.
The former information minister said the ambitious target set by the PML-N government for 2013-14 was indeed an uphill task which required gigantic efforts, transparency and accountability.