The Global Social Network
Mr. Abdullah Yusuf, the most effective tax collector in Pakistan's history, has been fired while traveling overseas on official business.
It seems that the critics of President Musharraf have been obsessed with a YouTube video clip showing Mr. Yusuf dancing and President Musharraf and former Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz smiling. The focus has been on judging the performance of Mr. Yusuf on the dance floor and his relationship with Mr. Musharraf rather than his undeniable accomplishments as the chief tax collector of Pakistan. Indeed, this is sad day for Pakistan.
Mr. Yusuf's key accomplishments include doubling of the revenue collection to achieve an aggressive target of over Rs 1.04 trillion in 2007-08; implementation of broad-based reforms within the tax system; universal self-assessment regimes; paperless customs clearances and e-filing systems and customer responsiveness with the business trade and bodies for creating a friendly business environment. Before Mr. Yusuf's reforms, the tax collection bureaucracy in Pakistan was notoriously corrupt and inefficient and he faced a lot of internal resistance. Mr. Yusuf is a chartered accountant and financial management consultant with extensive experience in public and private sectors.
The irony: Cost to collect tax higher than tax collection in many major cities in #Punjab #KPK #Balochistan #Pakistan http://tribune.com.pk/story/881537/the-irony-cost-to-collect-tax-hi... …
Out of the 21 formations, only six were collecting taxes, which were more than the total administrative cost and salary of officials serving at these stations. All these stations are located in Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad.
About 90% of the Rs64.3 billion was collected in these major cities since all major businesses have their head offices in one of these cities. The three LTUs situated in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad pooled Rs57.6 billion or 90% of the total assessments.
------------
Faisalabad is the country’s third populous city and the textile hub. However, the station generated just Rs193.1 million in income tax through FBR’s efforts at a total cost of Rs527.6 million. RTO Multan pooled just Rs77.6 million because of taxmen’s efforts while its administrative cost was Rs523.5 million.
---------
The RTO Peshawar that deals most of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) collected a meagre sum of Rs56.2 million at a cost of Rs561.4 million. The other station in K-P, RTO Abbottabad, collected Rs69.6 million through assessment but incurred Rs95.5 million. RTO Quetta collected Rs24.8 million at a cost of Rs86.2 million.
RTO Gujranwala – largely capturing the industrial area – collected Rs30.8 million at a cost of Rs317.6 million.
RTO Rawalpindi pooled just Rs46.4 million through FBR’s efforts at a cost of Rs417.2 million. RTO Sargodha collected Rs46 million at a cost of Rs187.8 million. RTO Sukkur collected Rs22.4 million at a cost of Rs223.8 million.
RTO Sialkot – hub of surgical and supports manufacturing units – collected Rs25.5 million at a cost of Rs240.5 million.
Faisalabad is the country’s third populous city and the textile hub. However, the station generated just Rs193.1 million in income tax through FBR’s efforts at a total cost of Rs527.6 million. RTO Multan pooled just Rs77.6 million because of taxmen’s efforts while its administrative cost was Rs523.5 million.

Comment
South Asia Investor Review
Investor Information Blog
Haq's Musings
Riaz Haq's Current Affairs Blog
President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif have met today in Beijing to reaffirm the "unbreakable" bond between their two "iron brother" countries on the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the China-Pakistan diplomatic ties. "No matter how the international landscape may evolve, China will always place priority on the development of China-Pakistan relations in its diplomacy with neighboring countries," he said. Over 7 decades of friendship witnessed Pakistan help…
ContinuePosted by Riaz Haq on May 25, 2026 at 8:30pm — 5 Comments
A Pakistan-American franchisee has joined a Qatari-backed investor group's bid to buy out the US-based Papa John's Pizza restaurants chain. Nadeem Bajwa started his part-time job in 1991 as a pizza delivery driver for Papa John's while attending college in Indiana. He has since risen to become the largest franchisee with nearly 300 restaurants across the United States. Bajwa's backing could help Irth, which is also backed by Brookfield Asset Management, in its $47 a share pursuit of…
ContinuePosted by Riaz Haq on May 18, 2026 at 10:00am
© 2026 Created by Riaz Haq.
Powered by
You need to be a member of PakAlumni Worldwide: The Global Social Network to add comments!
Join PakAlumni Worldwide: The Global Social Network