Dr Ikramul Haq

Pakistan, for the last many decades,has been grappling with the problem of raising adequatetaxes to meet needs of both the people and the state. The perpetualand burgeoning fiscal deficit, coupled with deadly debt trap and mounting debt servicing, needs to betackled on emergent basis.The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has finally launched a comprehensive initiative […]

Bureaucratic rules, procedures and structures should be modernized and training programs geared towards not just producing a class of capable civil servants but restoring a spirit of public service-Reforming Pakistan’s Civil Service, Asia Report No. 185 of February 16, 2010, by International Crisis Group. Since independence, all efforts to reform civil services of Pakistan have […]

In fiscal year 2019-20, the coalition government of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), according to a report, posted fiscal deficit of Rs. 3.4 trillion or 8.1% of GDP against the estimate of International Monetary Fund (IMF) of Rs. 3.9 trillion (9.2% of the GDP) due to deadly economic toll of Covid-19 endemic. The news has certainly pleased […]

The first month of the current fiscal year has brought good news for the coalition government of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) on the fiscal front. The Federal Board of Revenue claimed in a Press release of exceeding the target of Rs. 300 billion fixed for July 2020 by Rs. 57 billion. According to FBR, Inland Revenue […]

It is now officially confirmed that the coalition Government of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) secured over $13 billion in foreign loans in the fiscal year 2019-20 alone! It was the second highest amount in history. Resultantly, the PTI Government and those who later come into power will keep on borrowing just to repay maturing external debts […]

The merger of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Provincially Administered Tribal Areas (PATA) with respective provinces, after assent of President to The Constitution (Twenty-fifth Amendment) Act, 2018 on May 28, 2018, (‘the 25th Constitutional Amendment’) was undoubtedly an historic day. This long-overdue and much-delayed action promised to offer a number of […]

“We can either have democracy in this country or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can’t have both”- Louis Brandeis “Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to […]

Over the period of time, Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), the apex body responsible for collecting federal taxes, has been violating its own law under which it came into existence. FBR was established through a Parliamentary Act, Federal Board of Revenue Act of 2007 [herein after “the FBR Act”], repealing the Central Board of Revenue […]

July 4, 1776 has special significance in American history. The great liberation movement against the colonial rule was pioneered in this land and founding-fathers of this historic struggle showed the subjugated nations a novel path of hope. They started a new beginning of self-rule. It took many hundred years for American society to struggle on […]

“The FBR contributes around 80% of the total revenues of the federal government; therefore, any miscalculation or misstargeting can severely cripple the budget, not just of the federal but the provincial governments as well”-Budget 2020-21: Highlights & Commentary, Pakistan Institute of Development Economic (PIDE) According to FBR Year Book 2018-19, its collection in fiscal year […]