Pakistan is among the 17 revenue organizations from a wide cross-section of economies where progress is being made with the deployment of taxpayer identification applications using digital technologies.
According to an updated report of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), 17 revenue bodies from a wide cross-section of economies (Australia, Cambodia, Georgia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Singapore, Taipei (China), Thailand, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam) reported having operational applications.
The International Survey on Revenue Administration (ISORA) collects comparable data on tax administration from revenue bodies around the world using questions and definitions agreed by four international organizations: The Inter-American Center of Tax Administrations, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Intra-European Organization of Tax Administrations (IOTA), and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
The report said that several governments in the region including Pakistan have aligned the administration of tax and customs operations within a single institution.
Only 11 revenue bodies (i.e., Pakistan, Australia, the Cook Islands, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Sri Lanka, Taipei, and Tonga) reported having dedicated units or programs to manage the tax affairs of high net worth individual (HNWI) taxpayers, either within their large taxpayer division or as a separate stand-alone unit.
The report said that the revenue collection performance was at its strongest in many economies of Central and West Asia, especially in the Kyrgyz Republic, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
Six revenue bodies (the Kyrgyz Republic, Nauru, Nepal, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan) reported strong growth in tax collection performances in 2021-22.
Revenue mobilization is clearly a major concern across Asia and the Pacific, and several economies in the region are increasing their focus on this important issue. A few economies, including Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Papua New Guinea, continued to focus on progressing the implementation of their medium-term revenue strategy (MTRS). Bangladesh and Pakistan finalized their MTRS during 2021 and 2022 and are now implementing it, it added.
The officials from the Federal Board of Revenue in Pakistan reported that their Tax Administration Diagnostic Assessment Tool (TADAT) assessment had provided the baseline for strategic reform planning and helped determine future priorities. The TADAT assessment was seen as being extremely useful in meeting goals and setting up a domestic resource mobilization program supported by ADB, as well as assisting the Federal Board of Revenue in improving its coordination with international partners.
