ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has launched a major crackdown on wealthy individuals who publicly flaunt lifestyles worth billions yet declare shockingly low incomes on their tax returns.
The FBR’s newly formed “Lifestyle Monitoring Cell” has forwarded details of numerous individuals to regional tax offices. These individuals are accused of having a massive discrepancy between the luxurious assets they display on social media and the income they report to the government.
A stark example is the CEO of a Lahore-based financial technology company. He reportedly owns 30 modern luxury vehicles valued at over 2.74 billion PKR, including a 300 million PKR Lamborghini and a 250 million PKR Rolls Royce. However, none of these expensive vehicles were declared in his income tax returns.
Similarly, a travel influencer from Lahore documented visits to over 25 countries in the last five years on social media, yet her declared income during this period ranged from only 4.4 lakh (442,000) to 37.9 lakh (3.79 million) rupees.
Another case involves an Islamabad-based model and influencer who has traveled to 13 countries and openly displays luxury items from brands like Louis Vuitton, Gucci, and Rolex. Despite this, her declared annual income has been reported between only 35 lakh (3.5 million) and 55 lakh (5.5 million) rupees.
This crackdown comes at a critical time for the FBR, which is facing a significant revenue shortfall of 274 billion PKR in the first four months (July-October) of the fiscal year, threatening its ambitious 14.13 trillion PKR annual tax target.
