Civil governments, ‘Ordinance’ factories
Huzaima Bukhari & Dr. Ikramul Haq “Pakistan affirmed its commitment to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development by adopting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as its own national development agenda through a unanimous National Assembly Resolution in…
Tax Laws (Amendment) Ordinance, 2025 Ill-advised, undemocratic & confiscatory
Huzaima Bukhari, Dr. Ikramul Haq & Abdul Rauf Shakoori The President of Pakistan issued Tax Laws (Amendment) Ordinance, 2025, published in The Gazette of Pakistan on May 2, 2025, made effective at once. Presidential Ordinance No. IV…
Recalibrating Civil Services
Huzaima Bukhari “Public service must be more than doing a job efficiently and honestly. It must be a complete dedication to the people and to the nation”—Margaret Chase Smith If today, fingers are being raised against…
Restructuring & Federalizing Tax Apparatus
Dr. Ikramul Haq We need a paradigm shift in our entire tax system. In our peculiar milieu, a simple, fair and broad-based tax with lower rates will work provided it has a fool-proof enforcement capacity/appratus. There should be 10%…
Constitutionality of SROs
Huzaima Bukhari & Dr. Ikramul Haq The federal and provincial tax codes of Pakistan contain numerous exemptions and concessions while many are added, modified or withdrawn through executive orders, called statutory regulatory orders (SROs). These exemptions and concessions have…
Perils of SRO culture
Dr. Ikramul Haq & Abdul Rauf Shakoori “It will not be out of context at this stage to observe that our country has a Federal System of Government, which is based on trichotomy of power, each organ…
Prudent economic management
Dr. Ikramul Haq & Abdul Rauf Shakoori The present government has demonstrated a committed and focused approach to economic stabilization, reflected in a series of structured reforms and prudent macroeconomic policies. The approval and successful implementation of…
Improving national tax culture
Huzaima Bukhari, Dr. Ikramul Haq & Abdul Rauf Shakoori The International Monetary Fund has agreed to lower Pakistan’s tax collection target for the ongoing fiscal year from Rs. 12.97 trillion to Rs. 12.35 trillion, a move that…
Independence Generates Activity & Growth
Huzaima Bukhari “All growth depends upon activity. There is no development physically or intellectually without effort, and effort means work”—Calvin Coolidge Normally human beings prefer to be led. This implies that they like to just work…