Bringing non-taxpayers into tax net: FBR to engage university students for research, suggestions

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) would hire university students to carry out research and giving practical suggestions for bringing non-taxpayers into the tax net.
Sources told Business Recorder here on Friday that Ms Riffat Shaheen Qazi, Member, Facilitation and Taxpayer Education (FATE), gave a detailed presentation on the 'FBR's Taxpayer's Outreach' to the subcommittee of the Tax Reform Co-ordination Group (TRCG) for reaching out to the non-taxpayers. The FBR Member, FATE, shared an impressive plan with the members of the committee for implementation to bring non-tax paying community within the documented regime.
Sharing key features of the 'FBR's Taxpayer's Outreach', she told the committee that the FBR would utilise services of university students to devise ways and means to bring non-tax payers into tax net. The university students would conduct research, based on the available data, to encourage voluntary compliance. It has been suggested to offer internships at FBR to a select group of competent students from major business schools and universities and utilise them in research work for FBR. One important feature of the plan is to organise the article-writing competition on FBR's image building, and prizes would be given to best writers by FBR.
The 'FBR's Taxpayer's Outreach' would also focus on corner meetings in business localities, acquainting taxpayers on ease of filing returns. This would be done to educate the taxpayers in proper filing of returns electronically. The plan presented by Riffat was highly appreciated by the sub-group of the TRCG.
According to the policy, the FBR is also in the process of finalising a sales tax lucky draw scheme to encourage documentation of potential sectors like hotels and restaurants etc. The FBR FATE Wing is also planning to strengthen the Call Centres established with Pakistan Revenue Automation Limited (PRAL). The plan further shows that the tax officials would distribute tax facilitation material in business centres to educate the taxpayers in filing returns.
The 'FBR's Taxpayers Outreach' further highlighted that the FBR is also engaged in arranging talk shows on electronic media, covering different tax regimes introducing the incentives/policies of FBR. The image-building of FBR would be done through sponsorships on TV/Radio/Web/Tickers etc. Other initiatives included newspapers advertisements, regular meetings with press/media and FBR's major campaigns on TV through TV commercials.
During 2010-11, Riffat said, the FBR had arranged seminars and workshops in the Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), and chambers of commerce and industry and other trade bodies on documentation of economy, e-filing of returns and to get feedback on new tax return formats. The redressal of taxpayers' complaints under section 7 of FBR Act, 2007 was also one of the important key performance indicators during 2010-11. Over 200 cases had been filed by the taxpayers to resolve their tax related issues under section 7 of FBR Act, 2007.
At the same time, the FBR has redesigned its website, making it easy for the taxpayers to timely obtain notification, orders, rulings, instructions and general orders etc. Through web communication, the FBR has posted web newspaper, SROs, notifications, laws, ordinances, press releases on its website. The FBR FATE Wing has also been engaged in addressing online queries of taxpayers through FBR Helpline.