There is a huge difference between tax slabs in Pakistan and India but one thing is common for sure: the middle class faces the brunt of most tax slabs in both countries and gets excluded from most of the benefits.
However, this bracket of breadwinners in Pakistan is facing a much, much heavier tax burden.
According to the latest data seen by ProPakistani, a direct comparison between the two countries shows that Pakistani taxpayers are being charged higher rates on lower income brackets, whereas India offers more relief to middle-income earners.
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb last year emphasized the necessity of increasing tax revenues to break the cycle of reliance on International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailouts. The Finance Division aims to raise Rs. 13 trillion by end-June 2025 and since last year has targeted various sectors, including the salaried class, retail, and export businesses. Some harsh measures for tax evasion have also been introduced to ensure compliance.
In India, those earning up to INR 1.2 million (PKR 3.6 million) are completely exempt from income tax. In Pakistan, however, only incomes up to PKR 600,000 (INR 200,000) are exempt from tax slabs.
Beyond this, the disparity grows more severe. Indians earning between INR 1.2 million and INR 1.5 million (PKR 3.6 million to PKR 4.5 million) pay a flat 15 percent tax compared to Pakistanis in the same income range who get taxed at a rate of 25 percent.
Indian taxpayers earning up to INR 2.5 million (PKR 7.5 million) pay 25 percent, whereas Pakistanis with the same income are taxed at 30 percent. For individuals earning over INR 2.5 million, India imposes a maximum tax rate of 30 percent, but in Pakistan, this threshold is much lower—anyone earning over PKR 4.1 million (INR 1.36 million) is taxed 35 percent.
So Pakistan’s middle class, particularly salaried professionals, is shouldering a disproportionate share of the tax burden compared to India.
While India has structured its tax system to provide a good amount of relief to middle-income earners, Pakistan’s policies are strangling its salaried class with both hands tied behind their backs.
Stay Connected with ProPakistani
Get the latest business news, market insights, and economic updates wherever you prefer.
Add ProPakistani to Preferred Sources and see more of our stories in Google Search and Top Stories.
I must commend the author for very objective analysis. It reflects the pathetic tax rate working by FBR and Min of Finance. This shows utter ignorance of taxes in the region by the government. Yet our economy is dismally pathetic, and no doubt has touched rock bottom. The criminals who are running the country should be hanged and their properties confiscated.
This article has 0 knowledge
Why can’t you simply create a table for comparison.
The Huge Taxes on Salaried Class is the reason for most Pakistani leaving the Country.
Fake article with poo knowledge on the subject as usual.
1. India and Pakistan both levied high taxes on middle class .
2. India only recently PROPOSED lowering taxes on middle class . Only now. And it’s a proposal not an actual law.
3. In india 70% of the population earns below 25000 INR per month.
4. The BJP govt imposed high GST on the people already so they don’t need to impose more as indirect taxes are collected on everything.
you guys will never learn to make use of tables in such comparisons. always writing paragraphs.
If it is true then please research and publish the comparison how taxed money is utilized or looted by the both governments and how India is far more developed in every sector. The Pakistani governing peoples had always rights of loot and make it legitimate through court but in present time salaries of ministers and assembly members and whoever that can salvage the government has been increased to unprecedented percentage while retard in business activity caused middle class to sell their savings to survive. People are connected to their God and having hatred for rulers in their hearts.