Dr. Ikramul Haq 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...Read More

Lack of initiatives & innovations Huzaima Bukhari & Dr. Ikramul Haq The adoption of Finance Bill 2020 on June 29, 2020 and exceeding the target by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) for fiscal year (FY) 2019-20, after blocking refunds of billions,  was claimed as an achievement by the coalition Government of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI)....Read More

Draft Income Tax Act, 2022 Huzaima Bukhari & Dr. Ikramul Haq[i] When the government of General Pervez Musharraf decided to promulgate a new income tax law in 2000, many opposed it strongly. The main objection was that his regime had no mandate to enact any such law. The rule, “No taxation without representation”, was stressed...Read More

Huzaima Bukhari & Dr. Ikramul Haq  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 spheres of governance and fix chronic maladies so that Pakistan can be transformed into a strong economic entity and...Read More

Huzaima Bukhari “Independence? That’s middle class blasphemy. We are all dependent on one another, every soul of us on earth”—George Bernard Shaw Congratulations to all Pakistanis celebrating the 73rd Day of Independence on 14th August 2020. May Allah bless the people of this country with years of prosperity and independence in the true sense of...Read More

Huzaima Bukhari & Dr. Ikramul Haq When the government of General Pervez Musharraf decided to promulgate a new income tax law in 2000, many opposed it strongly. The main objection was that his regime had no mandate to enact any such law. The rule, “No taxation without representation”, was stressed by his critics. This cardinal...Read More

Dr. Ikramul Haq 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...Read More

Huzaima Bukhari & Dr. Ikramul Haq “The genius of our ruling class is that it has kept a majority of the people from ever questioning the inequity of a system where most people drudge along, paying heavy taxes for which they get nothing in return”—Gore Vidal  The reality behind claim of the Federal Board of...Read More

Huzaima Bukhari “Popularity should be no scale for the election of politicians. If it would depend on popularity, Donald Duck and The Muppets would take seats in senate.”—Orson Welles What an apt observation by John F Kennedy when he said: “Mothers all want their sons to grow up to be president, but they don’t want...Read More

Huzaima Bukhari & Dr. Ikramul Haq “We need to lower tax rates for everybody, starting with the top corporate tax rate. We need to simplify the tax code. The ultimate answer, in my opinion, is the fair tax, which is a fair tax for everybody, because as long as we still have this messed-up tax...Read More