General’s ‘general law’ v ‘special law’
Huzaima Bukhari & Dr. Ikramul HaqThe Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, was promulgated by General Pervez Musharraf, through a Presidential Ordinance on September 13, 2001 repealing Income Tax Ordinance, 1979, which was also introduced by a military dictator, General Zia-ul-Haq. Section…
Lawmakers or lawbreakers?
Huzaima Bukhari“When the leaders choose to make themselves bidders at an auction of popularity, their talents, in the construction of the state, will be of no service. They will become flatterers instead of legislators; the instruments, not the guides, of…
Learning taxation from clergy?
Huzaima Bukhari & Dr. Ikramul HaqFederal Board of Revenue (FBR) recently sought the guidance of clergy on the issue of taxation of Islamic financial instruments. In this regards, the following Press Release was sent to media by FBR on August…
My best friend!
Huzaima Bukhari“Walaqad khalaqnal insaana wa na’alamo maa tuwaswiso behi nafsohu wa nahno aqrabo ilaihi min hab’l an’wareed And indeed it is We Who created humankind, and fully know what their souls whisper to them, and We are closer to them than…
Homage to Rehan Hassan Naqvi: humanist par excellence
Huzaima Bukhari & Dr. Ikramul HaqSadly, on March 20, 2010 we lost Mr. Rehan Hassan Naqvi, a humanist par excellence, brilliant intellectual and extraordinary legal mind—he was different from all other tax lawyers of his time. Not only are his…
Executive defying Legislature
Dr. Ikramul HaqThe powers granted to Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) by the Legislature in 2018 under section 230F of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 [“the Ordinance”] to acquire any immovable property that is transferred by a person (transferor) to…
Illusion or truth?
Huzaima Bukhari“Illusion is needed to disguise the emptiness within.”—Arthur Erickson (Canadian architect)According to Andrew Schneider, “Truth is a perception of depth in which we perceive more of what is there, while illusion is a superficial perception of reality.”These days there…
“Services” & immovable property income taxation
Flagrant Constitutional violationsHuzaima Bukhari & Dr. Ikramul HaqThe taxation of “services” mentioned in section 153(1)(b) of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 [“the Ordinance”] with effect from tax year 2020 is subjected to “minimum tax regime” in cases where tax is…
Unconstitutional income taxation
Huzaima Bukhari & Dr. Ikramul HaqThe coalition government of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) in its very first budget for finance year 2019-20, through Finance Act, 2019, imposed ‘minimum tax regime’ for certain class of taxpayers along with tax on normal income,…