Shabbar Zaidi’s appointment as FBR chairman lauded

The Corporate Pakistan Group (CPG) has welcomed the appointment of Syed Muhammad Shabbar Zaidi as the chairman of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), saying that it takes pride in Zaidi being an active member of the group.

In a statement issued on Saturday, the group said it was important to mention that he was doing this service to the nation on a pro bono/honorary basis. On the very first day of taking charge, Mr. Zaidi has issued a directive against the practice of attaching the bank accounts of those companies which the tax authorities considered to have defaulted on tax payments, by making it conditional on giving at least one day notice to the CEO of the company and seeking prior approval of the FBR chairman.

“This measure has been widely acclaimed by the business community across the country and has set the direction of the way the FBR will be governed under his chairmanship. Mr. Zaidi is a chartered accountant and has had a distinguished professional career with the leading accountancy firm A. F. Ferguson & Co. (a member firm of PwC network) where he also served as the senior partner. He has been president of the ICAP and South Asian Federation of Accountants,” said the statement.

“Mr. Zaidi has contributed significantly to the development of taxation and fiscal laws of Pakistan. He is a man of vision and while pursuing an active professional career he has authored several books as well as participated in various philanthropic projects. Over the years Mr. Zaidi has participated in many discourses on television as well as in conferences and seminars where he has clearly explained his vision for the improvement of Pakistan’s economy in general and the taxation system in particular.

“He firmly believes in revamping taxation policy and administration to bring the untaxed areas of economy into the tax net thereby broadening the tax base. He also wants to reduce the trust deficit between the taxpayer and the tax collector by creating a culture of respect. He has been a strong proponent of digitisation and wants the entire system of taxation to be automated with an aim to eliminate the physical interface between tax officials and tax payers.”

Muhammad Azfar Ahsan, founder of the CPG, stated, “All members of CPG are delighted on Mr. Shabbar Zaidi’s appointment as chairman FBR. We consider him to be the perfect choice for this job and we appreciate this positive step of the government. Mr. Zaidi is a trusted and dear fellow member of the group and his views are well-respected by all of us.

“We wish him the very best of luck in undertaking this extremely challenging assignment, and assure him of all our support throughout his two-year tenure with the hope that by its end the FBR would have been completely transformed into an effective, efficient and well-respected organisation, thereby resulting in improvement of Pakistan’s economy.”

The CPG is a think tank which is made up of 256 members who are movers and shakers of civil society. These comprise of corporate and business leaders, politicians, ministers, senators, members of national and provincial assemblies, governors, federal secretaries, academicians, energy experts, tech entrepreneurs, diplomats, defence personnel and media persons.

Since its inception, the CPG has made a regular attempt to shape the public policy by organising discussions, presenting road maps and white papers to the government on various economic aspects as well as producing research papers on education.