All Pakistan Tax Bar Association (Aptba) has flayed the remarks of Member CBR Direct Taxes Vakil Ahmed Khan, allegedly against the tax practitioners and demanded of his immediate removal.
Aptba President Naeem Shah while lashing out at Vakil Ahmed Khan for his remarks, said in a statement on Wednesday that the bar will soon give strike call with the co-ordination of the District High Court and the Supreme Court bars to protest against what he said "uncalled-for and highly objectionable remarks of the said Member of CBR.
He said Association, in its meeting, has resolved that the country has suffered a great loss because of the actions and policies of the CBR member.
On account of CBR member's policies, the number of income tax return-filers have reduced from 1.l million to one million, he claimed, saying that the said CBR member was providing incorrect data to the nation through media.
He said in 2000, which was the first year of the government, through the tax survey a panic was created throughout the country due to which the graph of country's economy went down to the level of 70 percent, adding million of rupees were spent on the said tax survey to gather the information and data which has not been utilised even after a lapse of four years.
Meanwhile, Naeem Shah said a meeting of the Association was held in the federal capital, which was attended by representatives of 36 tax bars of the country.
The meeting condemned the remarks passed by Vakil Ahmed Khan in a recent interview with a TV channel whereby he alleged that 24 percent of the revenue of the country was being embezzled by the tax practitioners and the chartered accountants.
It strongly condemned these remarks and observed: "The Aptba has the only power to prepare, and plead a tax case, whereas a tax bureaucrat has all the powers to discretion, policy-making, decision-making, and the powers of assessment, which are the means of corruption in the tax system".