Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: Business leader Mian Zahid Hussain said on Wednesday that the pace of tax reforms is still disappointing.
He explained that resistance to the digital economy is adding to the growing tax burden on the poor, making their lives harder. He pointed out that current economic policies are worsening unemployment and poverty nationwide.
Speaking to members of the business community, Mian Zahid Hussain said that strict fiscal and monetary policies have heavily impacted industrial activity, job opportunities, and consumers’ purchasing power. According to the World Bank, Pakistan’s poverty rate has hit 40.5%, with unemployment at around 22%, revealing the real challenges behind ongoing reforms.
He highlighted that 75 to 80 percent of the Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) revenue comes from withholding taxes, which are technically indirect taxes.
