Salaried workers in Pakistan paid a massive Rs266 billion in income tax during the first half of this fiscal year, making up almost one rupee out of every ten collected nationwide. Whether they work in public or private sectors, these employees contributed more than twice as much as the entire real estate sector over the same period, according to fresh stats from the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) covering July to December.
This year’s numbers show a noticeable jump: salaried employees handed over Rs23 billion more than last year, marking a 9% rise. Importantly, these figures exclude book adjustments—last year, the same group paid Rs243 billion. Add in book adjustments, and sources say the total has already surpassed Rs300 billion for the current half-year. Besides, these figures don’t include payments made by some contractual workers under Section 153-B of the tax law.
Experts highlight how Pakistan’s salaried class bears the brunt of tax collection, thanks to the FBR’s sluggish reforms. Existing taxpayers, mainly employees and manufacturers, are constantly leaned on—leading to some salaried people surrendering 38% of their pretax income, far higher than what most in neighboring countries or sectors like real estate and retail pay.
In a recent address to the Pakistan Business Council, Lt Gen Sarfraz Ahmed, the SIFC’s national coordinator, commented: “We’ve made a mess of our fiscal situation, and all the government thinks of is taxing those who are easiest to target.” Data backs this up: non-corporate employees paid Rs117 billion (up 14% from last year), while corporate sector workers gave Rs82 billion, up 13%.
Struggling to meet a revised tax goal of Rs6.5 trillion, the FBR leaned heavily on advance collections and slowed down refunds, yet only managed a 10% rise—half what’s needed for the annual target.
Out of Rs3.03 trillion collected nationwide this half-year, nearly one-tenth came from salaried Pakistanis, who pay on their gross incomes—without deductions for expenses.
Provincial government workers contributed Rs39 billion, but that’s down 7% from last year. Federal government employees, however, paid Rs27 billion, up 8%.
A new tax targeting wealthy pensioners (those earning over Rs10 million annually) brought in little, meaning collections might barely scrape Rs1 billion this year. Facing pushback
