THINGS are improving, or so we have been told. Where this statement applies to macroeconomic indicators, it can be said to hold true. However, the same cannot be said about efforts to fix the economy’s structural faults, which are what landed the country in this unprecedented mess in the first place. Foremost among these is a broken revenue system that penalises the dutiful and lavishes favours on the rich and powerful. Despite the severe strain on the economy, the privileged have continued to elude the taxman, leaving the salaried classes and registered businesses a disproportionate burden to shoulder. The FBR chairman recently acknowledged that not even the wealthiest 5pc of the population are paying the taxes they owe. This is a shocking admission, especially when he also acknowledged that the economy has no breathing room left. If that is the case, what is the FBR doing about it?

For months, we have been hearing the mantra that there are ‘no more sacred cows’ for the tax authorities. In reality, things do not seem to have moved much. Beyond the finance minister’s constant handwringing about the ‘shrinking breathing space’ and regrets about ‘squeezing those already squeezed to their limits’, little appears to have been done to achieve greater equitability where the levy of taxes is concerned. It emerged recently that agricultural incomes, perennially undertaxed, will not start to be squeezed till the next fiscal year, and now, the FBR chief himself is accepting that the rich are still not paying their dues. The authorities should be asked: is Pakistan’s burden only for its salaried classes and honest businesses to carry? Why must they sacrifice their honest, hard-earned incomes and constantly compromise on their quality of life to ensure that the country keeps standing? Have those who built immense wealth on this country’s resources no obligation towards it? These are bitter questions that must be answered soon.

Published in Dawn, October 18th, 2024