Income tax filers double in Pakistan, but 38% report zero income

As the Oct 31 deadline to file income tax returns approaches for Pakistanis, 4.82 million income tax returns have been filed, nearly double the 2.41 million returns filed by the same date in 2023.

This increase can be attributed to strict enforcement measures announced by Pakistan's tax collection authority — the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).

However, approximately 1.82 million or around 38% of these returns reported no income, indicating zero tax deposited, compared to 859,929 nil-income returns filed in 2023.

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FBR data further shows that taxpayers submitted PKR 123 billion along with their returns for the 2024 tax year, a significant increase from PKR 56.55 billion collected during the same period last year.

The government's budget for fiscal year 2024-25 (FY25) sets a collection target of PKR 12.97 trillion, over 40% higher than the target for FY24.

The tax system of Pakistan has seen significant structural improvements in recent months as a result of a policy shift towards increasing domestic resource mobilization, imposing more direct taxes on the wealthy, and facilitating businesses and exporters with prompt refunds.

The FBR collected PKR 9.31 trillion in FY24, surpassing the target of PKR 9.25 trillion by a margin of PKR 54 billion.

The target for the first quarter of the current financial year has also been exceeded, with PKR 1.64 trillion collected against a target of PKR 1.61 trillion, reflecting a growth rate of over 17%.