Is it fair to expect clean water, free education, healthcare, and more for just a Rs. 651 per month tax?
According to the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), Pakistanis paid Rs. 651 per person per month in direct tax during the fiscal year (FY) 2020–21. Although when including the indirect tax paid per person, per month for the same period which was Rs. 1,134, the total tax paid is much higher at Rs. 1,785, it is still significantly lower than developing countries that have a tax-to-GDP ratio of 15 percent.
It is worth mentioning that the government’s only source of income is taxation, much of which is to be spent on the needs of the citizens.
According to the FBR, the sum of direct and indirect taxes paid per month per person in 2010-11 was Rs. 724 and in 2011-12 it was Rs. 856. Similarly, in 2012-13 and 2013-14, direct and indirect taxes paid per month per person were Rs 866 and Rs 982, respectively.
Likewise, the unsubstantial gradual increase in the total direct and indirect taxes paid continued yearly till 2017-18, with a slight decrease in 2018-19.
The closest Pakistan has come to reaching the 15 percent tax-to-GDP ratio in the last 10 years was in 2017-18, when the tax-to-GDP ratio reached 13 percent. For the fiscal year 2020–21, Pakistan’s tax-to-GDP was 11.1 percent.
Direct tax is applied on taxable income and is paid by citizens directly to the government, whereas an indirect tax is charged on products, services, or any consumable items, such as sales tax, customs duty, or federal excise duty.