STAFF REPORTER
ISLAMABAD After a gap of two months, the federal cabinet on Monday approved the appointment of Nausheen Javaid Amjad as the new chairperson of the Federal Board of Revenue and prematurely terminated the two-year contract of Chairman Shabbar Zaidi due to his health concerns. Nausheen is the second woman to lead the organisation of 25,000 people and the fourth chairperson in the last 20 months. This indicates lack of consistencies in taxation polices and strategies, as every new chairperson tries to run the FBR in his or her own way. The government approved the appointment of the new FBR chairperson by having the federal cabinet circulate a summary instead of bringing the matter in a regular cabinet meeting, which is scheduled for Tuesday.Nausheen faces a gigantic task of stopping the nosediving tax revenues, restructuring the top FBR hierarchy within days and improving the tainted image of the tax machinery. She will also have to address the issue of rampant corruption, particularly fresh reports regarding some officers receiving kickbacks from taxpayers for putting their names on the list of those who will receive tax refunds on a priority basis under the PM’s Covid-19 relief package.
