ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari Friday issued another ruling against the Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) that the FTO is not above the Ministry of Finance/Federal Board of Revenue (FBR). After rejecting 11 representations of the FTO, the President has rejected another 12 representations of the FTO regarding taxation of immovable properties by the FBR on Friday. The President has ruled that the ambit of inclusiveness cannot be stretched to such an extent that this domain becomes limitless so as to include within its scope the academic questions, policy questions, questions pertaining to rendering of advice, questions of interpretation of the law and exercising parallel jurisdiction already provided under the tax laws, hence making the Ombudsman a person over and above the MoF/FBR to be delving in their domain. Even if the learned FTO had the best of intentions in passing the impugned order such intentions would not empower him to deal with questions which are not covered in maladministration as spelled out under the preamble of the Ordinance, 2000 and Federal Ombudsmen Institutional Reforms Act 2013. Such extensive and unlimited jurisdiction has also been exercised by some of the Chief Justices and judges of the…