THE recent reduction in fuel prices with the objective of providing some relief to the common man is a welcome step by the government. There seems to be an acknowledgment of the fact that the harsh conditionalities placed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) could have been negotiated better instead of bowing down to the pressure by the lender to impose several new taxes.

Foremost amongst those impacted by these measures was the salaried class, whose income tax slabs were ruthlessly revised upwards, thus increasing their tax liability significantly.

These tax slabs, coupled with a huge increase in energy prices and unprecedented food inflation, have almost halved their purchasing power over the last few months.

The tax rates on the salaried class are now comparable or even higher than those in the developed countries and welfare states that provide a host of education, health and social benefits to their taxpayers.

On the other hand, in our country, the taxpayers do not have access even to clean drinking water, leave alone other benefits. The government should sympathetically review the increase in tax on the salaried class and provide the poor souls immediate relief on this count. This is what is utterly needed.

Aamir Malik
Karachi

Published in Dawn, October 20th, 2022