Diagnosis of tax maladministration: FTO constitutes 28-man advisory body

The Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) has constituted a 28-member advisory committee to diagnose the systematic issues of tax maladministration and get suggestions on its sustainable remedies. The notification in this regard has been issued under section 18 of the Establishment of the office of FTO Ordinance, 2000 on June 8, 2011. The first meeting of the advisory committee is going to be held on June 20, 2011.
The committee in its first meeting will review the performance of the FTO during last two years, besides discussing all pros and cons of reform vision of FTO. Subcommittees will also be constituted for diagnosing the systemic issues of tax maladministration and suggesting sustainable remedies; expanding FTO's outreach and suggesting ways and means for its improvement; preparing proposals for widening the tax base in the context of a fair, just and transparent tax system; preparing a code of conduct for the Advisory Committee, and also a Taxpayers Bill of Rights.
The advisory committee comprises following members: Khalid Aziz Mirza, former chairman, Competition Commission of Pakistan, Abdullah Yusuf, former chairman FBR, Sakib Sherani, former Principal Economic Advisor, Ministry of Finance, Dr Tariq Hassan, Attorney & Advocate, International Legal Services, Major Ashraf Nasir (Retd), former chief secretary Balochistan, Dr Gulfaraz Ahmed, former federal secretary, Haroon Khawaja, former chairman, PM Evaluation and Monitoring Cell, Amman Ullah Kanrani, advocate general, Balochistan, Dr Ashfaque Hasan Khan, Principal and Dean NUST Business School, Tariq Husain, PHD, managing director, Enterprise & Development Consulting, Bashir Ali Muhammad, chairman and CEO Gul Ahmed Group, Nazim F. Haji, chairman ALUPAK Ltd, Export Processing Zone Landhi Industrial Area, Karachi, Khawar Anwar Khawaja, former CEO, Sialkot International Airport, Engineer M A Jabbar Chief Executive, Qaim Automotive Mfg (Pvt) Ltd, Ali Jameel CEO TPL, Dr Ikramul Haq, Advocate Supreme Court, Farhan Bokhari, senior journalist, Barrister Mahreen Khan, Saqib Masood, president ICAP, Zulfeqar Khan, president, Pakistan Tax Bar Association, Dawood Usman Jakhura, vice president, FPCCI, Samina Fazil, president, Islamabad Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mukhtar Ahmad Ali, executive director, Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives, Wazirzada Muhammad Idris, founder president of D I Khan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Shaista Asif, editor UTrade Magazine, Muhammad Adnan Jalil, Messrs Al-Jabran Enterprises, Imran Ghazanvi, advisor Planning Commission and Yasin Tahir, senior advisor, FTO.