Tax on farm income
Although Pakistan has a combined federal and provincial tax-to-GDP ratio of less than 10pc, the income of one segment farmers seems to escape taxation. This causes anger among regular taxpayers,…
Tax reform proposals
Pakistan has one of the lowest tax-to-GDP ratios even amongst the bottom ranked developing nations. The following statistics are indicative of the unexploited potential for additional revenue generation. Whereas there…
Falling farm income reverberates across wider economy
One of the key reasons for macroeconomic stability is the decline in commodity prices, driven by both global and domestic factors. However, this trend is taking a toll on the…
Go beyond the Fund advice
Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) met under the chairmanship of Jameel Ahmed, Governor of State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on 4 November and issued its Monetary Police Statement (MPS) the same…
Concessions, debt & reforms
THE FBR had been publishing its Tax Expenditure Report since 2020. Each report estimates the ‘tax expenditure’, ie, the tax foregone or the revenue loss because of the built-in tax concessions and…
Budget projections for FY25
There is overwhelming evidence that approval of the budget for next fiscal year, reportedly to be presented to parliament on 7 June, will be a “prior” condition for the twenty…
QNA – a right step? Jan 08, 2024
At the 107 National Accounts Committee (NAC) meeting held on 28 November 2023 approval was given to the introduction of quarterly national accounts (QNA), and announced through a press release…
Reliance on foreign loans
Economic Affairs Division in its foreign economic assistance (FEA) data disclosed a 58 percent rise in foreign loan inflows in the first quarter (July-September) of the current fiscal year compared…
Power distribution sector’s performance – II
T&D losses have been valued at Rs 520 billion. If losses are reduced to Nepra’s (National Electric Power Regulatory Authority’s) target level, there would be a saving of Rs 122…
The politics of economic policies
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif tweeted on 8 June, two days before the budget was presented in parliament: “coalition government has taken some difficult decisions to stabilize the economy. We didn’t…
