My friend, that is the tragedy in all of this. The ones paying taxes are paying far more than what they are suppose to, yet these same people are taxed more and more and they still number less than 5-7 million of the 240 million useless souls. It's the rest of the freeloaders that are getting off for free. The ones who are salaried are the only ones that get their taxes deducted and also increased with regularity.I am not going to argue or defend the character of our nation, there is no character but hypocrisy only.
However, your view of very few people paying taxes in Pakistan is wrong. If ever, we conduct a fair and honest audit of FBR, the FBR will end up paying refunds to infants as well. Millions in Pakistan have annual income well below the taxable threshold, but they end up paying tax, which is never recorded nor known publicly that where that money goes.
It is not the people of Pakistan who have failed, it is the people who had the power to make policies and decisions and institutions that have failed to build a law-abiding mature society.
Few families and individuals not only landed us in this situation, but also very successfully destroyed our future. They did not even spare the bait ul mal money.
Even a child in Pakistan now knows there is no justice, there is no law, you can be robbed, raped, killed, harassed, kidnapped, runover, bulldozed, these will all make a good publicity and money making opportunity for vultures.
Just a simple example, PEMRA can impose any ban at any time on the media, but they cannot force media houses to run informative learning programs for youth and children?
The landed and industrialists find loopholes which are massive.
With everything, it takes two hands to clap. There are other parts of the world where the government intervention is minimal yet people pay what they owe on time and mostly all of what is owed by them.
Our people push back on paying with the oft-repeated refrain: "we don't know if our taxes will go to the right place". Well, it's not our job to ask this question. We need to get the money into the kitty first and then ask about accountability with money. Here, the government is falling WAY short of its tax recovery rates. It is horrendous even compared to other functioning 3rd world countries.
I agree with the last part that maybe like the communists, the awaam needs to be programmed through propaganda to pay their taxes.