SCO, IMF & reforms
Hosting the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Islamabad by Pakistan on October 15-16, 2024 was a good omen after a long period of diplomatic isolation. The event provided a…
Punjab Agricultural Income Tax (Amendment) Bill 2024
The Punjab Agricultural Income Tax (Amendment) Bill 2024 is a significant legislative initiative aimed at modernizing and broadening the agricultural taxation framework in Punjab the Punjab government has passed the…
Tobacco taxes – treaties, tensions, and trends
Pakistan faces a pressing need for a sustainable tobacco taxation policy, particularly as tobacco use imposes severe health and economic burdens on the country. With over 160,000 deaths annually due…
Death and taxes
THE recently passed budget reveals three aspects about the present ruling regime. The first one is the external constraint of getting an IMF deal. It is clear that securing a new agreement, by any…
Economic butchery
PAKISTAN is teetering on the edge of economic collapse due to its persistent struggle to increase the tax-to-GDP ratio, a crucial measure of its fiscal health. Despite numerous efforts, many…
Track and trace?
In July 2022, Pakistan took a significant step towards curbing the illicit tobacco trade by implementing the Tobacco Track and Trace System (T&TS). This system aims to trace the origins…
Our economic potential
“LORD, we know what we are, but know not what we may be.” Shakespeare alludes to human potential which is always higher than its present condition. Allama Iqbal elaborated on…
GB’s land issue
THE demonstrations that erupted in Gilgit-Baltistan at the end of 2022 have entered the new year. The mass protests against electricity shortages, reduction in the wheat quota, taxation and alleged…
Budget repair
THE federal budget for fiscal year (FY) ‘24 will be presented against a complex domestic environment and a challenging global economy. There has never been a more critical time to…
Taxing times
A FRIEND from the banking sector recently told me that he had resigned from his job. He was a pretty senior executive at a local bank. I asked him why…
