Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has rightly questioned why salaried taxpayers must contend with a tax return form so complex that even highly educated professionals struggle to complete it. His concern, however, will remain symbolic unless the authorities take concrete steps to simplify the process. The salaried class is among the most documented and compliant segments of Pakistan’s economy. With taxes deducted at source, there is little scope for concealment or manipulation. Yet, despite their automatic compliance, these taxpayers continue to face an excessive burden when filing returns. Simplifying the return form, as has already been done for traders, would not merely be a matter of convenience. It would acknowledge that those who consistently fulfil their obligations should not be subjected to unnecessary complexity.
But the issue extends far beyond the mechanics of filing. The salaried class requires meaningful relief, not just easier paperwork. For years, they have borne a disproportionate share of the tax burden, while inflation has steadily eroded their real incomes. In many households, nominal salary increases have barely kept pace with rising costs of food, housing, education, transport, and utilities. Progressive taxation has compounded the strain by pushing more income into higher brackets, even when purchasing power has not improved.
The middle class should not be treated as an endlessly convenient source of revenue. Unlike large parts of the informal economy, salaried workers have little opportunity to understate income, negotiate liabilities, or shift earnings outside the formal system. Their compliance is automatic, and this highlights the broader issue of tax fairness. Expanding the tax base is essential, particularly by bringing undertaxed segments of the informal economy into the net. Relying disproportionately on those who are already fully documented undermines both equity and credibility.
The government’s efforts to register traders through a simplified fixed‑tax regime will only be meaningful if they lead to a balanced distribution of the tax burden. Otherwise, the imbalance between compliant and non‑compliant sectors will persist. It is time to revisit the income‑tax structure for salaried individuals, raising thresholds at which higher rates apply and ensuring that future adjustments take inflation and real purchasing power into account. Without such reforms, the salaried class will continue to shoulder an unfair share of the burden, while the state fails to mobilise revenue from sectors that remain outside the net.
Pakistan needs a wider and fairer tax base, not simply higher taxation of the easiest taxpayers to identify. Providing genuine relief to the salaried class, alongside simplifying the return form, should be a priority. Such measures would not only ease compliance but also restore confidence among taxpayers who have long felt penalised for their honesty. A fairer system would strengthen the state’s credibility, broaden revenue mobilisation, and ensure that the burden of taxation is shared more equitably across society.
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