Getting out of the debt-tax trap
Should the government borrow at any cost to protect its people or tax heavily those not in the tax net? Economists believe that a higher budget deficit means more taxes…
Regressive taxes, neglected reforms
Pakistan’s reliance on bilateral, trilateral, and friendly countries to fulfill its financial requirements not only undermines its sovereignty, but also intensifies the hardships of its citizens. Despite engaging in numerous…
Deficits in our lives
There is this quotation from Einstein that I was surprised to discover: “The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax”. And for that matter, it is…
Counting our deficits
With this week’s advent of Ramazan, our lives have changed in some tangible ways. Our daily routines have acquired a new rhythm. At least in these initial days of the…
Harnessing tobacco taxation for economic revitalisation
Pakistan faces multifaceted economic challenges; and amidst these, the role of tobacco taxation emerges as a potential avenue for financial rejuvenation. There is an urgent need to explore how strategic…
US debt- ceiling deal dooms Biden’s revolutionary tax plans
US President Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign promise to make wealthy Americans and corporations pay more in taxes to finance a range of social priorities breathed its last gasp, at least…
Why do all roads lead to more taxes?
As a staff-level agreement between IMF (International Monetary Fund) and Pakistan following the ninth review of the IMF programme inches ever closer, the government recently announced the Supplementary Finance Bill,…
Fixing the taxation system – Part III
One of the pernicious side-effects of a large dose of the federal divisible tax pool injected into the provincial finances is that the provinces have become slack in mobilizing their…
FBR: dismal income tax collection
The continuously declining dismal share of income tax in overall tax collection during the last many years testifies to the lack of judicious balance between direct and indirect taxes, resulting…
Taxing traders
Pakistan’s economy has, over the years, transitioned towards a services-oriented economy, with services making up 58 per cent of total GDP, largely due to underinvestment in both the manufacturing and…
