Photonews Logo Photonews logo
  • Home
  • Pakistan
    • Punjab
    • Sindh
    • Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
    • Azad Jammu Kashmir
    • Balochistan
    • Gilgit – Baltistan
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Videos
    Gen V Season 2 trailer
    Videos

    Gen V Season 2 Trailer Cast, Plot, Premiere Details

    July 26, 2025 3 Min Read
    IShowSpeed Daniel La Belle race
    Videos

    IShowSpeed Beats Daniel La Belle in 40-Meter Race, Hits 41M Subscribers

    June 24, 2025 2 Min Read
    Cardi B new single Outside
    Videos

    Cardi B’s ‘Outside’ Single Sparks Buzz Over Offset and Stefon Diggs

    June 20, 2025 2 Min Read
  • Sports
  • Technology
  • Offbeat
  • Blog
  • Contact
Reading: Pakistan’s current tax regime favours elite: report
PhotoNews Pakistan PhotoNews Pakistan
Font ResizerAa
Search
  • Home
  • Pakistan
    • Punjab
    • Sindh
    • Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
    • Balochistan
    • Azad Jammu Kashmir
    • Gilgit – Baltistan
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Videos
  • Sports
  • Technology
  • Offbeat
  • Blog
  • Contact
Have an existing account? Sign In
Follow US
© 2022 Photonews. All Rights Reserved.
PhotoNews Pakistan > Business > Pakistan’s current tax regime favours elite: report
Business

Pakistan’s current tax regime favours elite: report

Web Desk
By Web Desk Published February 9, 2016 5 Min Read
Share
SHARE
Islamabad: Pakistan’s tax regime is heavily tilted in favour of the elite, says the Tax Reforms Commission (TRC) in its final report and proposed that all perquisites of top office holders, cabinet ministers and judiciary should be subject to tax in order to ensure equity.

The report, which the TRC took almost one and a half year to complete, will now be presented to Finance Minister Ishaq Dar for its application on a fast-track basis.

The TRC also proposed the setting up of a national tax agency besides stripping the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) of its policymaking role. The findings of the commission highlight serious flaws in the tax structure that is burdening the poor and giving a huge relief to the elite.

“In Pakistan, it seems the poor are subjected to heavy and harsh indirect taxation and the elite are enjoying free perquisites and benefits, including purchase of valuable state-owned plots at prime locations and at throwaway prices,” said the report.

The TRC recommended the government to withdraw tax exemptions for residences of the president, governors and chiefs of staff.

It proposed that perquisites of governors of provinces, chiefs of staff and corps commanders, federal ministers and residences of judges and their allowances should also be subject to tax.

The federal government boasts of withdrawing Rs208 billion worth of tax concessions in the last two budgets. However, almost all of these concessions were indirect and the government has so far protected the benefits enjoyed by the elite in the shape of exemption from income tax.

In its report, the TRC called on the government to bring structural changes in the FBR over the short term and set up the national tax agency in the long run. However, it did not give the structure of the new agency.

“There should be one national agency that should collect taxes on behalf of the centre and provinces,” remarked TRC Chairman Masoud Naqvi.

The report stated that Pakistan could not improve tax collection at the national and provincial levels unless fundamental administrative reforms were introduced.

It said a fully automated, professional and efficient national tax agency would alone be in a position to improve capacity by detecting tax avoidance and evasion through the tax intelligence system.

At present, the FBR is collecting 95% of taxes by imposing more and more obligations on organisations and individuals in the form of withholding tax provisions.

It proposed the establishment of an independent tax policy board in the short term under the auspices of the Ministry of Finance headed by the finance minister with the prime objective of debating and formulating the national tax policy in consultation with the stakeholders on a continuing basis.

The board may comprise eminent economists, professionals and other stakeholders. In order to create a link between the board and the FBR, the FBR chairman could be a member of both the bodies to ensure interconnectivity and ownership of the policy decision.

The TRC said under the current scenario, the FBR played a fundamental role in the formulation of fiscal policies, levy and collection of federal taxes. There is a need to ascertain if there is an inherent synergy in these roles to keep them together in the FBR or separate them to achieve greater focus and improved efficiency. It also called for separating the audit function from the rest of the FBR.

The TRC observed that the tax system was marred by evasion, under-reporting, tax fraud, corruption, smuggling and under-invoicing to name a few. This inequity is also hitting hard the compliant taxpayers.

It said despite efforts for reforms in the past 15 years, the FBR had not been able to make any headway and the collection stood at an even worse level than in 2000 in terms of tax-to-GDP ratio.

TAGGED:Pak­istan
Share This Article
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Whatsapp Whatsapp LinkedIn Email Copy Link Print
Leave a comment

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Advertisement

HBL Saving Made Easy
HBL Saving Made Easy

Recent Posts

State Bank Interest Rate September 2025

State Bank of Pakistan Keeps Interest Rate at 11% Amid Flood Crisis

Simon Leviev Arrest in Georgia

‘Tinder Swindler’ Simon Leviev Arrested in Georgia

USA TikTok Deal 2025

US and China Strike TikTok Deal to Avoid Ban

Post Archives

More Popular from Photonews

Karachi Rain
Sindh

Karachi Heavy Rain Causes Widespread Waterlogging and Disruption

5 Min Read
Pakistan US MoUs 2025
Business

Pakistan and US Sign MoUs to Boost Critical Minerals and Economic Ties

3 Min Read
Nina Dobrev and Shaun Breakup
Entertainment

Nina Dobrev and Shaun White End Engagement: TikTok Hints Spark Buzz

3 Min Read
Entertainment

Sydney Sweeney’s Bold Dress at 2025 Toronto Film Festival Sparks Social Media Debate

Sydney Sweeney, a Hollywood star known for Euphoria, turned heads at the 2025 Toronto International Film…

September 9, 2025
Top NewsWorld

Utah Officials Release Video of Suspect Fleeing After Charlie Kirk Shooting

Utah officials released surveillance video showing a suspect fleeing the roof of a building after fatally…

September 12, 2025
Sports

Pakistan Captain Salman Ali Agha Misses Training Due to Neck Spasm

Pakistan cricket team captain Salman Ali Agha skipped training at the ICC Academy in Dubai due…

September 11, 2025
Sports

Canada’s Dunfee, Spain’s Perez Win Gold at Tokyo 2025 Championships

On Saturday, September 13, 2025, Canada’s Evan Dunfee and Spain’s Maria Perez won the first gold…

September 13, 2025
PhotoNews Pakistan

Always Stay Up to Date

Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!

Categories

  • World
  • Pakistan
  • Punjab
  • Sindh
  • Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
  • Balochistan
  • Azad Jammu Kashmir

 

  • Top News
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • Videos
  • Tech
  • Offbeat
  • Blog

© 2024 Phototnews
All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Lost your password?