In a brazen move that punishes ordinary Pakistanis and undermines the government’s own green energy agenda, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) yesterday unveiled Rs36 billion in fresh levies to plug a self-inflicted budget gap. These measures follow the controversial decision to slash the sales tax on imported solar panels from 18% to 10%, and to award a 6%–10% salary increase to government employees—ironically rewarding insiders at the expense of taxpayers.
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The National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Finance rubber-stamped three new taxes that border on the punitive:
- A 10% Federal Excise Duty on day-old chicks (DOC) in the poultry sector—guaranteed to amplify already-soaring chicken prices for consumers across the country.
- An increase in the dividend tax on mutual fund payouts from 25% to 29%, targeting small- and medium-scale investors who rely on modest returns.
- A hike in withholding tax on profits from government securities—from 15% to 20%—specifically aimed at institutional investors, while individual savers get no relief.
FBR Chairman Rashid Mahmood Langrial defended the punitive package as necessary to offset Rs12 billion lost to the salary hike and Rs8.5 billion sacrificed by the solar panel tax cut. Yet these three measures are just the tip of the iceberg: the finance ministry disclosed that total new taxes for FY2025–26 will reach Rs312 billion, supplemented by Rs389 billion in aggressive enforcement tactics—an orchestration that appears designed to squeeze every rupee from the formal economy while handing windfalls to politically connected insiders.
Critics accuse the FBR of short-sighted fiscal engineering that will stifle investment, punish green energy adopters, and drive consumers deeper into financial distress. By slapping hefty levies on essentials like poultry and targeting retirement-minded investors, the FBR risks triggering inflationary shocks and eroding public trust—just as Pakistan desperately seeks to attract sustainable investment and spur economic growth. With these new taxes poised to hit the streets immediately, the question on everyone’s lips is: who will bail out the taxpayers when this tax ambush backfires?
