Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb revealed significant details about tax evasion in Pakistan on Thursday. According to him, tax theft amounts to nearly Rs7,000 billion each year. He announced that the government is working on expanding the tax base and reforming the country’s tax system.
Aurangzeb declared a “war against tax evaders,” emphasizing that the tax burden falls heavily on the salaried class in Pakistan. He aims to increase the tax share in the economy to 13.5%.
The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has plans to bring around 2.8 million potential households into the tax system, which could contribute approximately Rs1.6 trillion to the national economy. FBR spokesperson Bakhtiar Muhammad noted that while there are about 3.5 million households liable to pay taxes, 2.8 million of them are currently not paying.
The government is implementing a comprehensive strategy to enhance the tax-to-GDP ratio, leading to an increase in tax filers and collections during the current fiscal year (2024-25).