Peace of mind
Huzaima Bukhari“The happiness and peace attained by those satisfied by the nectar of spiritual tranquility is not attained by greedy persons restlessly moving here and there”— Chanakya (371 BC- 283 BC)When one thinks of heaven, the first thing that strikes…
Tinkering with taxes
Huzaima Bukhari & Dr. Ikramul HaqOn January 23, 2019, the Federal Finance Minister, Asad Umar, presented Finance Supplementary (Second Amendment) Bill of 2019—commonly dubbed as mini-budget—to balance the books by raising revenues through enhanced duties on the imported goods labelled…
Of custodians, complainants & oppressors
Huzaima Bukhari & Dr. Ikramul HaqPakistan is a strange country where custodians of the system act as complainants. Those who head state institutions, instead of reforming the same, complain and express helplessness about their malfunctioning, inefficiency and non-performance or under-performance….
Rule of predatory elite
Dr. Ikramul HaqThe predatory elite of Pakistan—militro-judicial-civil complex, businessmen-turned-politicians and absentee land owners—are responsible for the prevailing mess. While the country is trapped in a deadly debt quagmire, every government—military and civilian alike—begs for bail-outs and then ironically talks about…
Genius vs stupidity!
Huzaima Bukhari“The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits”— UnknownIntelligence is nobody’s exclusive domain nor is dumbness unique to a single person unless one is mentally challenged. Someone can be academically bright but may not have…
Constitutional violations vis-à-vis agricultural income tax
By Dr. Ikramul Haq[*]Levying of taxes on “agricultural income” is sole prerogative of the Provinces under the 1973 Constitution of Pakistan (hereinafter: “the Constitution”). In recent years, a number of enactments imposing agricultural income tax (sic) were promulgated in all…
Sales Tax: History & Issues
By Dr. Ikramul Haq*I. INTRODUCTIONThe imposition of sales tax in Pakistan is not new. It has its origin in pre-partition era under the Government India Act of 1935. In recent years, the complexities have arisen in its implementation as the…
Sales tax on supply of energy is unconstitutional?
By Dr.Ikramul HaqDr. Ikramul Haq, a leading international tax counsel, is a well-known author specialising in international tax, press, intellectual property, corporate and constitutional law. Dr. Ikram is Chief Partner of Lahore Law Associates (fax: +92 42 7226953, e-mail: irm@brain.net.pk;…
Revenue Mobilisation in Pakistan
NEED FOR TAX INTELLIGENCE SYSTEMDr. Ikramul Haq[1]Pakistan for the last many years has been grappling with the problem of raising revenue to survive as viable economic entity. The ever-increasing fiscal deficit, coupled with mounting debt servicing, is posing a serious…