Morbid taxation: stifling growth of private sector
Case study of telecom industry Huzaima Bukhari & Dr. Ikramul Haq The Pakistan telecom sector contributes steady inflow of heavy tax collections under major heads like Activation Tax, GST/FED, the PTA fee & charges and others. The PTA has been…
Reconceptualising Jihad
Huzaima Bukhari & Dr. Ikramul Haq Dr. Ayesha Jalal, eminent historian, in Partisans of Allah: Jihad in South Asia has brilliantly traced the root and dimensions of jihad as anticolonial ideology that helped the subjugated masses under British raj to…
Finance Bill 2020 & data privacy
Huzaima Bukhari & Dr. Ikramul Haq The Finance Bill 2020, presented along with federal budget for fiscal year 2020-21 on June 12, 2020, contains certain provisions relating to real-time access to Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) of citizens’ data to…
Finance Bill 2020: muzzling right to justice
Huzaima Bukhari & Dr. Ikramul Haq In the Finance Bill 2020, presented along with federal budget 2020-21, a highly lamentable—rather unconstitutional amendment is proposed—to the effect that for availing right to appeal the aggrieved taxpayer will have to deposit 10…
Finance Bill 2020 & personal data privacy
Huzaima Bukhari & Dr. Ikramul Haq The Finance Bull 2020, presented along with federal budget for fiscal year 2020-21 on June 12, 2020, contains certain provisions relating to giving powers to Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to have online access…
Learning to unlearn the learnt!
Huzaima Bukhari “We now know that sex is complicated enough that we have to admit nature doesn’t draw the line for us between male and female, or between male and intersex and female and intersex; we actually draw that line…
Budget 2020-21 & FBR’s target
Dr. Ikramul Haq “…for Pakistan, the fiscal deficit is projected to increase by 9.2 percent of GDP in 2020”—Economic Survey 1999-20quotingFiscal Monitor—April 2020, IMF The federal budget for fiscal year (FY) 2020-21, the second one of coalition Government of Pakistan…
Illicit cigarette sector
Huzaima Bukhari & Dr. Ikramul Haq Illicit trade in tobacco products (ITTP) is a global occurrence, affecting all regions and countries. It holds an allure for criminals to engage in it as tobacco products are light, small, easy to transport…
Budget 2020-21: Inventive measures
Dr. Ikramul Haq The government of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) has been trying to improve tax administration and enhance revenues but not succeeded so far. Now amid Covid-19 epidemic it is facing a tough challenge for economic revival. It desires to…