Islamabad, November 19, 2024 – Rashid Mahmood, Chairman of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), provided an in-depth briefing to the World Bank team on Tuesday regarding the FBR’s comprehensive transformation plan aimed at enhancing revenue collection and tax compliance in Pakistan. The meeting, held at FBR headquarters, was attended by World Bank Country Director Najy Benhassine, Lead Country Economist Tobias Akhtar Haque, Public Sector Specialist Ms. Irum Touqeer, and Senior Operations Officer Ms. Eva Liselotte Lescrauwaet. Discussions focused on aligning initiatives under the Pakistan Raises Revenue Project with the FBR’s broader transformation agenda. Chairman Mahmood outlined the government’s vision for reforming the tax system, emphasizing the dual goals of increasing revenue and simplifying compliance for taxpayers. He identified several key focus areas, including digitalization, human resource capacity building, anti-smuggling measures, and broad-based tax administration reforms. These initiatives are designed to address gaps in tax compliance while modernizing the country’s revenue collection mechanisms. One of the highlights of the discussion was the Chairman’s request for additional World Bank support to establish digital enforcement stations, digitize supply chains, and conduct feasibility studies for the proposed initiatives. These efforts, he noted, are critical to streamlining tax operations and ensuring transparency. The World Bank team…