By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s tax returns for the fiscal year ending June 2025 surged by 17.65% to a record 5.912 million, a milestone Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif attributed to rising public confidence in the government’s economic overhaul and a broader crackdown on evasion.
The Federal Board of Revenue’s tally, disclosed just days after the October 31 filing deadline, marks the strongest compliance on record and underscores early traction from Sharif’s push to digitise and streamline the nation’s creaky tax system. Individual filers drove the uptick, submitting 5.805 million returns, a brisk 18.18% increase from 4.912 million the prior year, with 3.599 million accompanied by payments, up 19% from 3.024 million.
Revenue from those filings climbed to Rs69.02 billion, a 10% gain from Rs60.15 billion in fiscal 2024, including a Rs9 billion boost tied directly to the expanded filings.
The prime minister, in a statement from his secretariat, framed the numbers as validation of his administration’s agenda. “We are sincerely thankful to the people for their support,” Sharif said, linking the 892,419 new filers to a “growing public confidence in the government’s reform agenda.”
The gains come amid Pakistan’s fragile recovery from a debt crisis that forced a $7 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund last year. Sharif’s coalition government, which took power in 2024, has prioritised tax mobilisation to hit IMF-mandated revenue targets and narrow a chronic fiscal deficit that’s long fueled borrowing binges. Non-filers still outnumber compliant taxpayers by more than 10-to-1 in a population of 240 million, leaving room for further expansion of the net.
Sharif, an industrialist turned premier with a track record of austerity drives, spotlighted his hands-on role in the Federal Board of Revenue’s transformation. He’s chaired weekly meetings to oversee digitisation, crediting automated port clearances and simplified procedures for curbing corruption and lifting efficiency. “This surge reflects growing public confidence in the government’s reform agenda,” he said, calling the reforms a “blessing and a sign of progress.”
Among the tweaks: a new Urdu-language return form tailored for salaried workers, aimed at easing barriers for the country’s vast informal workforce. To squeeze the shadow economy, estimated at 40% of gross domestic product, the administration has ramped up point-of-sale terminals at retailers, throttling sales-tax leaks that have plagued collections for years.
Sharif also stressed a merit-overhaul at the tax agency, vowing to reward “capable and hardworking officers” while rooting out underperformance. The secretariat’s announcement commended the board for the “historic milestone” and thanked citizens for showing “civic responsibility and trust in the government’s economic policies.” “We are working day and night to ensure a fair and transparent fiscal system,” he said.
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