Huzaima Bukhari “A mother’s arms are made of tenderness and children sleep soundly in them”—Victor Hugo (1802-1885) Who can deny the importance of a mother to a child? From keeping the baby in her womb for a full nine months, bearing the pangs of birth and then raising it until he or she is independent....Read More

Dr. Ikramul Haq The prevailing myth that our tax base is narrow and only 1% of the population pays income tax is totally fallacious—this statement reiterated by the representative of Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) before Senate Standing Committee on January 30, 2019 should be lambasted. He and all members of the Committee conveniently ignored...Read More

Dr. Ikramul Haq On January 23, 2019, the Federal Finance Minister, Asad Umar, presented Finance Supplementary (Second Amendment) Bill of 2019 offering no concrete steps to harness the real tax potential, which at the federal level alone is not less than Rs. 8 trillion. The failure of Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to meet the...Read More

Huzaima Bukhari “The happiness and peace attained by those satisfied by the nectar of spiritual tranquility is not attained by greedy persons restlessly moving here and there”—  Chanakya (371 BC- 283 BC) When one thinks of heaven, the first thing that strikes is peace. Peace in the surroundings, peace at heart and above all, peace...Read More

Huzaima Bukhari & Dr. Ikramul Haq On January 23, 2019, the Federal Finance Minister, Asad Umar, presented Finance Supplementary (Second Amendment) Bill of 2019—commonly dubbed as mini-budget—to  balance the books by raising revenues through enhanced duties on the imported goods labelled as ‘luxury items’, giving relief to domestic industries for import of raw material and...Read More

Huzaima Bukhari & Dr. Ikramul Haq Pakistan is a strange country where custodians of the system act as complainants. Those who head state institutions, instead of reforming the same, complain and express helplessness about their malfunctioning, inefficiency and non-performance or under-performance. In the wake of the tragic incident of Sahiwal where an innocent family became...Read More

Dr. Ikramul Haq The predatory elite of Pakistan—militro-judicial-civil complex, businessmen-turned-politicians and absentee land owners—are responsible for the prevailing mess. While the country is trapped in a deadly debt quagmire, every government—military and civilian alike—begs for bail-outs and then ironically talks about self-reliance! We keep on hearing about reforming the tax system but the elite shamelessly...Read More

Huzaima Bukhari “The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits”— Unknown Intelligence is nobody’s exclusive domain nor is dumbness unique to a single person unless one is mentally challenged. Someone can be academically bright but may not have an aptitude for practicality. Another may be adept in music for example but...Read More

By Dr. Ikramul Haq[*] Levying of taxes on “agricultural income” is sole prerogative of the Provinces under the 1973 Constitution of Pakistan (hereinafter: “the Constitution”). In recent years, a number of enactments imposing agricultural income tax (sic) were promulgated in all the four provinces of Pakistan. All of theses failed to address the most important...Read More

By Dr. Ikramul Haq* I.          INTRODUCTION The imposition of sales tax in Pakistan is not new. It has its origin in pre-partition era under the Government India Act of 1935. In recent years, the complexities have arisen in its implementation as the Federal Government, in the name of “documentation of economy”, decided to extend its...Read More