Shehbaz Sharif, the prime minister of Pakistan, has halted the Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) plans to buy 155 opulent cars in reaction to popular outcry. The decision, which was widely criticized and would have cost approximately Rs. 1.6 billion, was made by the World Bank, which is sponsoring a different tax compliance project.
An unnamed senior official claims that on Thursday, the Prime Minister issued an order prohibiting the FBR from submitting any materials for the Central Development Working Group’s review of the plan. After that, a meeting to talk about the Pakistan Raises Revenue initiative’s investment project finance component was cancelled by the Ministry of Planning.
The government has stepped in twice in the last ten days to stop the FBR from squandering taxpayer money for executive benefits. A similar ban has already been announced by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar.
The acquisition of luxury vehicles by the FBR surprised the World Bank, which is financing a pilot initiative to increase tax compliance. A spokeswoman for the Bank stated that the potential of financing up to 25 Mobile Field Office vans has only been explored, subject to a thorough business case and monitoring strategy.
The Rs. 1.6 billion budgeted for the vehicles, as critics have noted, equates to 8.6% of the monies intended for modernizing the FBR’s Computer infrastructure.
Given Pakistan’s perilous economic circumstances, the Prime Minister has asked the FBR chairman for a report on the plan and reaffirmed his commitment to upholding austerity. The public has applauded the decision, which is anticipated to be a success for the government’s initiatives to address the nation’s financial difficulties.
