Look who's copying Aadhaar, Pakistan! And the aim is to broaden tax base

Pakistan will use its national identity database to build profiles of potential taxpayers in a renewed bid to broaden its tax base, Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said.

The plan aims to increase the number of taxpayers in a country where less than one per cent of its 210 million people pays taxes. It seeks to plug leakages, encourage correct property valuation, lower individual tax rates and offer an amnesty program, Abbasi said in an interview in his home in Islamabad.

Lenders including the International Monetary Fund have repeatedly shown concern over Pakistan’s tax-to-GDP ratio of about 12 per cent,