THIS is with reference to the editorial ‘Unfair tax system’ (July 31), which rightly discussed the bleeding wound of Pakistan’s economy — a predatory tax architecture that ruthlessly squeezes the vulnerable while shielding the privileged. The weight of our fiscal policy is carried almost entirely by indirect taxation, turning basic survival into a taxable offence.
The unfair burden manifests in everyday life through deeply unjust mechanisms. Consumers face a labyrinth of arbitrary levies, ranging from fixed charges, uniform quarterly adjustments, fuel cost adjustment (FCA) and additional surcharges to electricity duty and general sales tax (GST), constituting roughly 16.3 per cent of an average bill with zero rational justification.
Billions of rupees are collected under the guise of adjustable withholding tax (WHT) on all utility bills, but they are seldom credited back to the taxpayers, functioning effectively as mere extortion. Cellphone users suffer an initial WHT of 12.5pc to 15pc on prepaid recharges, leaving a meagre Rs85 to Rs87.50 from a Rs100 top-up. This is compounded by an additional 19.5pc GST levied upon utilisation for calls, texts or data.
Similar regressive burdens apply across fuel, gas and water supply. This coercive model operates with total disregard for economic reality. It creates no distinction between a daily-wage earner drawing Rs30,000 per month and those raking in millions. According to World Bank estimates, roughly 40pc to 44pc of the country’s population lives in poverty, struggling to secure two basic meals a day.
Meanwhile, the elite sit firmly atop the nation’s resources, enjoying exorbitant salaries and hidden perks. The harsh truth is that a state that preys on its starving poor while pampering its untouchable elite tends to lose its moral authority to govern.
If the government continues to ignore the structural rot of a taxation system that protects the powerful and bleeds the powerless, public patience will eventually run out. True reforms cannot wait for tomorrow; the elite must be brought into the tax net, indirect exploitation must end, and the survival of ordinary citizens must be prioritised before social cohesion fractures beyond repair.
In essence, the performance of the state taxation machinery is not measured by the daily posting orders issued in the name of various officials. This only disrupts the functioning of the machinery. Performance is measured by professional collection of just taxes and provision of relief to the common man without any discrimination.
Lt-Col (retd) Mukhtar Ahmed Butt
Karachi
Published in Dawn, August 16th, 2026
