The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has projected a record tax collection of Rs. 570 billion from salaried individuals during the current fiscal year, marking a substantial 55% surge compared to the previous year’s collection of Rs. 368 billion.
This significant increase is evident in the first six months of the fiscal year, where tax revenue from salaried employees has already reached Rs. 243 billion—an astonishing 300% rise compared to the same period last year.
The continuous rise in tax collection from salaried workers has been a consistent trend over the past five years. In the fiscal year 2019-20, tax revenue from this segment was Rs. 129 billion. This figure rose to Rs. 152 billion in 2020-21, then jumped to Rs. 189 billion in 2021-22, before reaching Rs. 264 billion in 2022-23. The current fiscal year’s target of Rs. 570 billion marks an almost fourfold increase from 2019-20 levels.
This trend underscores the shifting tax burden in Pakistan’s economy, with the salaried sector emerging as the third-largest tax-contributing segment. Experts argue that while tax collection improvements are necessary for economic stability, the disproportionate focus on salaried employees—who have fixed incomes and cannot evade taxation—raises concerns about fairness in the taxation system.
As the government continues its revenue-boosting efforts, calls for broadening the tax base remain strong. Many economists advocate for taxing underreported business incomes, real estate holdings, and the informal sector, ensuring a more equitable distribution of tax responsibility across all economic classes.
