Federal govt punctures claims of stronger provincial tax performance

Khurram Schehzad, Advisor to the Finance Minister of Pakistan, has challenged claims that Pakistan’s provinces are outperforming the centre in tax collection, presenting Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) data that shows provincial revenues remain far below their potential, despite having large constitutionally assigned tax bases. “There’s a claim circulating that provincial tax performance has been better than the federal, and that this should settle the debate on whether resource allocation needs revisiting,” said Schehzad, in a post on X Friday. “The factual details point to a different conclusion.” According to FBR figures for FY25, shared by Schehzad, the federal government collected over Rs13 trillion in taxes and levies, equivalent to 11.3% of GDP. “Federal collections are on a trajectory to reach 15% of GDP by June 2028,” he said.