The mess that is traffic!
Huzaima Bukhari “If I complain about a traffic jam, I have no one to blame but myself”—Steve Wynn According to government statistics as of 2021, total number of road accidents was 10,429 out of which 4,721 were fatal, 5,708 were…
Law of binding precedents
Huzaima Bukhari & Dr. Ikramul Haq In view of the hierarchical character of the judicial system in Pakistan, it is of paramount importance that the law declared by courts should be certain, clear and consistent. Inconsistencies create distrust in the…
Legislative powers
Dr. Ikramul Haq Lawmakers in Pakistan derive their legislative powers from the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan [“the Constitution”]. Any kind of legislation that includes imposition of levy of any tax, duty, fee, cess etc having extraterritorial impact and…
Bloom in economic gloom
Huzaima Bukhari “In a country well-governed, poverty is something to be ashamed of. In a country badly governed, wealth is something to be ashamed of”—Confucius Pakistan is presently caught in a vicious economic depression, thanks to the imprudent actions of…
FBR: Dwindling tax collection
Huzaima Bukhari, Dr. Ikramul Haq & Abdul Rauf Shakoori Pakistan has one of the world’s lowest tax ratios, stemming from five main weaknesses: complexity, a narrow tax base, low compliance, inefficient tax administration, and low and declining provincial tax…
2023: Year of Road to Prosperity
Dr. Ikramul Haq & Abdul Rauf Shakoori Punjab Revenue Authority (PRA) Chairman Zainul Abedin Saki has ruled out the possibility of creating one organisation—Pakistan Revenue Authority—in the name of the harmonisation of taxes. “If the federation and the provinces have…
2023: Roadmap to prosperity
Dr. Ikramul Haq Pathetic performance of Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and provincial tax agencies in bridging the huge tax gap and wasteful expenses on the part of federal and provincial governments are badly affecting the fiscal scene. On the…
2023: Disappointments & hopes
Huzaima Bukhari, Dr. Ikramul Haq & Abdul Rauf Shakoori Year 2022 is bidding farewell to Pakistan leaving behind some unpleasant memories, natural disaster in the form of floods as well as self-inflicted political instability and economic uncertainty. The negative outcomes…
Tax policy for 2023
Dr. Ikramul Haq & Abdul Rauf Shakoori The financial viability of any country is dependent on its revenue generation capacity. Governments collect revenues through various sources such as taxes on incomes and/or assets, consumption and transfer receipts from natural and…