The forgotten promise
“The state shall ensure the elimination of all forms of exploitation and the gradual fulfilment of the fundamental principle, from each according to his ability to each according to his…
Incentive-package for construction industry
The Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, in a Press conference on April 3, 2020, announced what is termed by official quarters as a “comprehensive relief/stimulus package” for the construction…
Budgets 2020 amid Covid-19 crisis—I
“If we were to construe Entry 52 of the Legislative List keeping in view the above meanings of the expression “in lieu of”, it becomes evident that the Legislature has…
Finance Act 2020
The adoption of the Finance Bill 2020 on June 29, 2020 and exceeding the target by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) for fiscal year (FY) 2019-20 was an achievement…
Independence Day considerations
Today we are celebrating 73rd Independence Day with a hope that the new government, after two years in power, will now seriously work on bringing the much-needed reforms in all…
A better tax model
For the last two decades every year, we have been consistently suggesting in these columns some innovative budget proposals, stressing comprehensive structural reforms, as highlighted recently by Pakistan Institute of…
Budget 2019-20 & tax reforms
Budget 2019-20, expected to be announced in the last week of this month, will be very important for the coalition government of Pakistan Tahreek-i-Insaf (PTI). It will determine the direction…
Taxes, inflation & social welfare
The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has achieved a historic milestone of collecting taxes of Rs 4.17 trillion in the first 11 months of the current fiscal year, for which…
Recouping tax losses judiciously — I
“Judicial overreach is when the judiciary starts interfering with the proper functioning of the legislative or executive organs of the government. This is totally uncharacteristic of the role of the…
Need for new income tax law — I
When the government of General Pervez Musharraf decided to promulgate a new income tax law in 2000, we, amongst many others, opposed it strongly. Our main objection was that his…
