Pakistan Tax-GDP ratio: Some unfrequented aspects
Perhaps one of the most mentioned, discussed, and almost attaining the degree of truism is dictum of Pakistan's low Tax-GDP ratio. It is stated to be abysmally low, stagnant and…
Budget: rationalise taxation
On the eve of another ritual exercise of announcing federal budget, official date has yet to be finalised, expected on June 12, 2024, there is a need to re-evaluate tax…
Back to the Fund
AS Pakistan goes back to the IMF, it is useful to review our 60-plus years’ ties with it. With 23 loans since 1958, we are the most IMF-addicted state regionally. Of…
Fixing the economy: high-stakes gamble?
The government appears determined to go through the reform process, and it seems to have the blessings of the proverbial 'powers that be'. Some would say the Powers won't let…
Foreign-funded 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,…
Fixing the economy: high-stakes gamble?
The government appears determined to go through the reform process, and it seems to have the blessings of the proverbial 'powers that be'. Some would say the Powers won't let…
Of, by and for the moneylenders
As Karl Marx wrote: “The ideas of the ruling class are, in any age, the ruling ideas” (‘The German Ideology’, 1845). Today, as the ruling class of global and domestic…
Tax reforms with borrowed funds!
According to a report, the government of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) "is seeking $400 million or Rs56 billion loan from the World Bank (WB) for a risky venture of fixing the…
Forsaken reforms
For the past five years Pakistan’s economy has not changed its basic composition, structure or dynamics. Fundamentally it remains the same, and as per historical cycles of crisis and lifting…
Poverty of our reform ambition
The passage of the integrated Goods and Services Tax (GST) legislation in the Indian Rajya Sabha is a landmark measure. Years in the making, it has taken a clear-headed determination…
