Tax Evasion Surges In Pakistan: 40% Taxpayers Declare Zero Income, FBR Gears Up For Crackdown

Karachi: Pakistan is facing a big tax problem. In 2024, about 5.9 million people filed income tax returns. But more than half of them showed 'zero income' — meaning they said they didn’t earn anything.

Even in 2025, the same thing is happening. Until September 27, over 40 percent of people who filed taxes claimed they had no income.

Luxury Life, No Income?

Many of these people are living rich lifestyles — they have big houses, luxury cars, and travel abroad. But still, they report no income to the tax department.

What Is FBR Doing?

Pakistan’s Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) is worried. They say the current tax system is not able to catch the real income and hidden assets of people.

The FBR says the self-assessment system — where people declare their income by themselves — is being misused because there is no regular checking.

Plan to Fix the Problem

To solve this, FBR wants to:

- Do stronger audits

- Use third-party data (like banks and travel records)

- Make the system more digital

Whistleblower Reward Increased

FBR also wants to make the whistleblower program better. Right now, anyone who shares secret information about tax evasion can get up to Rs 50 lakh.

They plan to increase this reward to Rs 15 crore, and it will be given in levels based on how important the information is.

FBR believes that people like family members, neighbors, coworkers, or house staff may know about hidden wealth. Many developed countries already use this method with good success.