Pakistan’s Tax-to-GDP Dropped During PTI’s Term

Pakistan government earned only Rs. 36.423 trillion through tax revenue to meet the public expenditure of Rs. 72 trillion over the last ten years. Despite having a large tax potential, the country was unable to raise its tax-to-GDP ratio to that of developing countries (15 percent of GDP). According to a report compiled by ProPakistani based on various reports of the Ministry of Finance, the tax-to-GDP decreased during the three years of the ex-prime minister Imran Khan’s tenure from 13 percent to 11.1 percent. The report shows that Pakistan’s tax-to-GDP ratio increased to 13 percent during the fiscal year 2017–18, the last fiscal year of the Pakistan Muslim League-N under prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.