ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s tax authorities have identified millions of potential tax evaders through an innovative use of technology and a “Lifestyle Monitoring Cell” that is designed to track online activities and spending patterns of high-net-worth individuals, including social media influencers and businesspeople, officials said on Tuesday, in a bid to detect tax evasion and undeclared incomes.
In a first-of-its-kind move, Pakistan’s Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has set up the dedicated cell to monitor social media activities of influencers, celebrities, businesspersons and professionals whose lavish lifestyles may not match their declared income or tax records.
The Lifestyle Monitoring Cell, operating under the FBR’s Intelligence and Investigation Wing, gathers data from platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, X, Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn to identify individuals who flaunt substantial wealth online but remain outside the tax net or underreport income.
Speaking to Arab News, Hamid Attique Sarwar, an FBR’s Inland Revenue Operations official, said they have identified around 4 million potential tax evaders through the newly formed monitoring cell and other methods, such as physical surveys and mainstream media monitoring.
