IMF: bail-outs or death-blows
Dr. Ikramul Haq According to Press Release No. 21/83, issued by International Monetary Fund (IMF) on March 24, 2021, “its Executive Board completed the “combined second through fifth reviews of the Extended Arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) for…
Revolutionizing agriculture
Huzaima Bukhari “If agriculture goes wrong, nothing else will have a chance to go right”―M.S. Swaminathan Embarking on a new business, the first things to be considered by an entrepreneur are “minimum costs and maximum gains.” People abstain from soiling…
Simplification of taxes for growth—II
Huzaima Bukhari & Dr. Ikramul Haq The government of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) has been reminded in these columns time and again that no agenda for simplification of tax system and rationalisation of tax codes can improve voluntary tax compliance, unless…
Pakistan Day’s Resolve
Dr. Ikramul Haq The resolution of March 23, 1940 paved the way for a separate homeland for the Muslims of India after a long-drawn struggle against colonial rule. However, since independence on August 14, 1947, our state is still caught…
Reflections on 81st Pakistan Day
Huzaima Bukhari & Dr. Ikramul Haq The Lahore Resolution of March 23, 1940, widely believed to have paved the way for a separate homeland for the Muslims of India on the basis of “two-nation” theory, received a jolt in 1971…
Simplification of taxes for growth—I
Huzaima Bukhari & Dr. Ikramul Haq The biggest challenge on tax mobilisation front faced by Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) is bridging monstrous tax gap through automation and introduction of tax intelligence system and not levying more taxes or enhancing…
FBR and tax-defiant political parties
Dr Ikramul Haq It is shocking that only two political parties filed income tax returns for tax year 2020 out of 27 registered with FBR and 127 with Election Commission of Pakistan despite section 114(1)(ac) of the Income Tax Ordinance,…
Littering: Our national character
Huzaima Bukhari “I see litter as part of a long continuum of anti-social behaviour”―Bill Bryson An interesting video came up on social groups where one strong person not only thrashed four boys sitting in a vehicle before his own in…
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 2016. Since then,…