Description

When tax functionaries do not behave as they ought to behave, when they are inefficient, corrupt &/or apathetic, then they alienate the tax paying public and adversely affect tax compliance which, for a developing country like Pakistan, creates huge problems in Revenue mobilization. The office of the Federal Tax Ombudsman was set up in 2000 to address this problem. This short article is a brief overview of the problem of maladministration in Pakistan's direct tax establishment.The author has spent almost 39 years in federal government service and is presently an Advisor to the Federal Tax Ombudsman and heads the Regional office of the Ombudsman at Lahore, the provincial capital of Punjab province.