Budget 2019: relief for fixed-income class on June 8, 2019Budget for the next fiscal year 2019-2020 is around the corner, to be announced on June 11, 2019. Due to extreme economic crisis and harsh conditionalities agreed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in lieu of a bailout package of US$ 6 billion, the Government has already announced that “it will not be in a […]
Budget and oppressive taxes on June 2, 2019In the forthcoming budget, to be announced on June 11, 2019 under a new economic team selected by Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) on the dictates/recommendations of International Monetary Fund (IMF), there will be enhancement in rates of existing taxes and imposition of new duties as target of Rs. 5500 billion has been agreed with lender of […]
Breaking deadly debt trap on May 25, 2019The most dreadful aspect of the five-year term (2013-18) of Pakistan Muslims League (Nawaz)-[PMLN] was leaving behind a monstrous public debt touching the level of 71% of the GDP-unprecedented in our economic history. The Opposition parties failed to raise an effective voice in Parliament on the issue of violation of section 3(b) of the Fiscal […]
Whitening schemes: failure of tax system on May 19, 2019The Government of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) has finally notified its first asset/income/expenditure whitening scheme-Assets Declaration Ordinance, 2019.Promulgated as Presidential Ordinance on May 14, 2019, the scheme gives generous incentives to those who have not been paying their taxes honestly, concealing and/or understating assets/incomes/sales/expenses and cheating the State. This is, no doubt, an open admission of […]
Devising a rational tax policy on May 11, 2019There is a national consensus that existing tax policy needs to be reformulated to provide an equitable, pragmatic, investment-oriented and business-friendly tax system, integrating good tax administration with simplified tax laws that are easily understood and hassle-free from the implementation perspective. Efforts of the government in the past to reform the tax system through special […]
Pakistan & IMF bailouts on May 4, 2019Since Ayub’s era our rulers have developed addiction for intakes of foreign loans, especially International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailouts-many call it death-blows. With every loan comes a host of conditions-ostensibly meant for economic revival and reforms by every time leaving us in deeper economic quagmire. Musharraf-Shaukat duo hoodwinked the nation by claiming that they were […]
Fix the fragmented tax system on April 28, 2019Pakistan needs a paradigm shift in the existing tax policy and revamping of entire tax administration-establishment of a National Tax Authority [NTA], capable of generating sufficient resources for the federal and provincial governments, must be the top priority. Through democratic process, all the provincial parliaments can under Article 144 of the Constitution of Islamic Republic […]
Reciprocity of taxes on April 21, 2019Time and again, not only the ordinary Pakistanis but politicians as well complain that prevalent tax system is unjust and that the governments-federal and provincial-are not collecting the due taxes. Since assuming the office of Prime Minister, Imran Khan has been stressing that our survival as viable state depends on accelerating economic development and collecting […]
Policies for growth & employment on April 14, 2019The main focus of a rational tax policy should be on incentivising investment and productivity, encouraging savings and facilitating capital formation in the private sector for job creations, innovations and rapid economic development. Our policymakers have miserably failed to achieve these goals-for them taxation means raising money and nothing else. Overemphasis on regressive taxation by […]
Banking secrecy and benami law on April 7, 2019The Finance Minister of Pakistan, while addressing a gathering of State Bank of Pakistan on April 1, 2019, asked banks to share data with Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) for effective implementation of Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act, 2017. The Government of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) recently promulgated long-awaited Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Rules, 2019 to start legal […]