A tax for the poor that rich never paid
Dr. Ikramul Haq The fiscal woes of Pakistan are due to naked defiance of the rich to pay due taxes on their enormous incomes/wealth. A…
World of anomalies
Huzaima Bukhari “The world is a strange place where those that lack modesty are considered beautiful. Cheats are considered clever and the loyal are considered…
Law of binding precedents
Huzaima Bukhari & Dr. Ikramul Haq INTRODUCTION In view of the hierarchical character of the judicial system in Pakistan, it is of paramount importance that…
Productive tax reforms
Huzaima Bukhari & Dr. Ikramul Haq All efforts in the name of tax reforms undertaken in Pakistan till today have miserably failed. These were nothing…
Political economy of tax exclusions
Dr. Ikramul Haq The tax codes of Pakistan at the federal level—Sales Tax Act, 1990, Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, Customs Act, 1969 and Federal Excise…
Soreness in society
Huzaima Bukhari “A sick society must think much about politics, as a sick man must think much about his digestion.”—CR Lewis (1898-1963), British writer and…
Reluctant return filers
Huzaima Bukhari & Dr. Ikramul Haq “FBR has until 10.10.2018 received 482,275 Income Tax returns for the Tax Year 2018, which are 170,208 more than…
Tax Directory 2016—Analysis
The top 500 companies in Pakistan paid Rs 364.325 billion in taxes during 2016-17. Out of 79,728 companies included in the Tax Directory 2016-17, about…
Pending cases in Courts of Pakistan (as of 30.09.2018)
PendencyNo. of JudgesCase per JudgeSupreme Court of Pakistan40,243172367Federal Shariat Court422584Lahore High Court, Lahore165,515562956High Court of Sindh, Karachi92,169342710Peshawar High Court, Peshawar29,624171743High Court of Balochistan, Quetta6,8428855Islamabad High…
Of taxpayers & non-filers
Huzaima Bukhari & Dr. Ikramul Haq Millions of Pakistanis by virtue of over 65 types of withholding taxes imposed under the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001,…
Forces of terrorism & obscurantism
Huzaima Bukhari & Dr. Ikramul Haq One should never forget the ghastly and cowardly attack of September 15, 2013 by Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) on Major General…
Politics of obscurantism
Dr. Ikramul Haq We lost East Wing (Mushraqi Pakistan) in 1971 due to sheer shortsightedness and highhandedness of ruling military junta and its political cronies.…
Honouring vocations
Huzaima Bukhari “There are no menial jobs, only menial attitudes”—Former Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States of America. When we think…
Wages of appeasement
Dr. Ikramul Haq We have a long and painful history of State’s patronage of corrupt practices, tax evasion, money power, and protection of forces of…
Wages of appeasement
Dr. Ikramul Haq We have a long and painful history of State’s patronage of corrupt practices, tax evasion, money power, and protection of forces of…
Awful planning, dreadful execution
Huzaima Bukhari & Dr. Ikramul Haq “In a quality city, a person should be able to live their entire life without a car, and not…
Countering Corruption
Daunting challenge for Pakistan Dr. Ikramul Haq For decades, Pakistan has been unsuccessfully tackling the daunting challenge of countering bribery, financial crimes, tax evasion…
Taxes, justice and reforms
Dr. Ikramul Haq Why has the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) after imposing more than 50 types of withholding taxes failed to enforce filing of…