KARACHI: The government has “gone heavy” on taxing passive incomes and foreign online vendors, including Chinese e-commerce platforms, said an economic expert Tuesday, as it seeks to raise over Rs14 trillion ($50 billion) in taxes in the next fiscal year, an ambitious target trade bodies have criticized as “unrealistic.”
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb had unveiled Pakistan’s Rs17.6 trillion ($62 billion) federal budget for 2025-26 earlier in the day, saying the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) would target Rs14.13 trillion in tax collection, which is nine percent higher than the outgoing year’s target.
“The government has gone heavy in terms of taxes on passive income like tax on bank deposits income has gone up,” Shankar Talreja, director research at the Topline Securities, told Arab News.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s administration is aiming for 4.2 percent GDP growth and a fiscal deficit of 3.9 percent in line with commitments made to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) during recent negotiations.
The IMF has pushed Pakistan to broaden its tax base, including income from retail, agriculture and real estate sectors, while ensuring social protection and priority spending.
