Huzaima & Ikram’s articles collect decades of published analysis on Pakistan’s tax and corporate law — income tax, sales tax, FBR reforms, budgets and constitutional questions — by Dr. Ikramul Haq, Huzaima Bukhari and Abdul Rauf Shakoori, including pieces first published in Pakistan’s leading newspapers.
Kids—potential adults
Huzaima Bukhari “It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men”—Frederick Douglass, American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer and statesman. Nelson Mandela…
Taxes for prosper Pakistan
Dr. Ikramul Haq “The Laffer Curve, by the way, was not invented by me; it has its origins way back in time. For example, the…
Fixing the ailing tax system
Huzaima Bukhari & Dr. Ikramul Haq On February 22, 2019, the Government of Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) published two tax directories—‘Parliamentarians Tax Directory’and ‘Tax Directory for the…
Optimizing tax collection
Huzaima Bukhari & Dr. Ikramul Haq “If we realise that the FBR cannot be fixed, we will create a new FBR. This is because Pakistan’s…
Equality in inequality!
Huzaima Bukhari “The worst form of inequality is to try to make unequal things equal”—Aristotle With the introduction of biometric verification whereby a person can…
Fundamental tax reforms
Dr. Ikramul Haq “If we realise that the FBR cannot be fixed, we will create a new FBR. This is because Pakistan’s survival is linked…
Unconstitutional taxation
Dr. Ikramul Haq The National Assembly, through Finance Act 2012, amended section 37(5) of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 and for the first time levied…
Taxation: Institutional 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…
Research on ‘Islamic’ taxation
Huzaima Bukhari & Dr. Ikramul Haq It is an undeniable fact that the majority of Muslim world is faced with serious problems of income inequalities…
International Women’s Day
Remembering Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah Huzaima Bukhari & Dr. Ikramul Haq March 8 marks International Women’s Day. On this day while highlighting the issues faced by…
Pro-people agenda
Dr. Ikramul Haq As two-thirds of the tax collected is in the form of indirect taxes and one-fourth of the entire amount comes from petroleum…
State & religion
Huzaima Bukhari “You are free; you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other…
Of “true VIPs” & tax evaders
Dr. Ikramul Haq The Prime Minister, while speaking at the awards ceremony held for top 150 taxpayers on February 20, 2019, said “The true VIPs…
Abusing taxpayers’ money
Huzaima Bukhari & Dr. Ikramul Haq In Pakistan, every effort to promote voluntary tax compliance is countered by an argument that taxpayers’ money is not…
Rich-poor widening gap
Huzaima Bukhari & Dr. Ikramul Haq A number of studies confirm that rich-poor divide in Pakistan is increasing alarmingly. According to conservative estimates, 63% of…
IMF, loans & taxes
Dr. Ikramul Haq In its first 6 months the Imran Khan government has been unable to resolve the question “to go or not to go…
Tax reforms with borrowed funds!
Huzaima Bukhari & Dr. Ikramul Haq According to a report, the Government of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) “is seeking $400 million or Rs. 56 billion loan…
Local governments & taxes
Huzaima Bukhari & Dr. Ikramul Haq In Pakistan, the poor are subjected to heavy and oppressive taxes, whereas the members of militro-judicial-civil complex, absentee landowners…
