Tax collections – same o same o!
Tax collections, so maintains the Federal Minister for Finance Ishaq Dar, have improved significantly and he cited a healthy growth rate of around 13 percent in one of his recent…
Tax-fueled chaos
The government of Pakistan is in the business of buying and selling electricity. It has so far lost Rs2.4 trillion in this business. The government of Pakistan is in the…
AI-led taxation
It was famously said by Benjamin Franklin, “In this world, nothing is certain except death and taxes”. Perhaps Benjamin was unaware of the lagging efficient administration, shallow policy orchestrations, and…
Unholy taxation
As Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government races to meet its promises to the IMF for revenue collection, Islamabad’s power corridors are buzzing with novel ideas to meet that goal. In…
Paradigm behind an ideal tax-to-GDP ratio
One point of commonality in all twenty-three International Monetary Fund (IMF) programmes secured by Pakistan to date is an emphasis on raising tax revenue with more recent programmes seeking not…
Taxation beyond revenue
The Federal Board of Revenue earlier announced having successfully exceeded its revenue collection target for the month of November -- and hence having collected surplus revenue in the first five…
Tax misconceptions
There has been no prime minister during the past three decades who has not blamed poor macroeconomic performance on those who do not pay taxes - tax evaders who are…
FBR’s resistance to tax reforms
Fiscal consolidation should be as growth-friendly as possible. In general, tax base-broadening reforms are identified as growth-oriented reforms. To the extent that they reduce distortions to economic decisions on work,…
Covid-19: economic & tax reliefs
Pakistan is facing the brunt of Coronavirus outbreak as the country is in a partial lock down. This has had a negative impact on businesses. Initial estimates show that the…
Harmful taxation of IT/telecom sectors
The Pakistan telecom sector contributes steady inflow of heavy tax collections under major heads like Activation Tax, GST/FED, the PTA fee & charges and others. The PTA has been advocating…
