Pakistan’s salaried class paid Rs. 91 billion in income tax during the first two months of FY27. The amount stood 225 percent above the Rs. 28 billion collected from the real estate sector, according to FBR data and tax officials.
Income tax from salaried individuals increased by Rs. 6.3 billion, or 7.5 percent, compared with last year. Meanwhile, revenue from real estate declined 28 percent from Rs. 39.4 billion during the same period.
Property Tax Collection Drops After Rate Cuts
The gap widened after the government halved advance taxes on property transactions in the latest budget. It reduced the property sale tax rate to 2.75 percent from 5.5 percent and purchase tax to 1.25 percent from 2.5 percent.
Consequently, advance tax from property sales fell to Rs. 18.4 billion from Rs. 27 billion. Similarly, tax from property purchases dropped to Rs. 9.7 billion from Rs. 12.4 billion during the period.
Salaried Workers Still Lead Tax Contributions
The government also offered Rs. 52 billion in tax relief to salaried individuals. It cut tax rates by up to 3 percent and abolished the 9 percent surcharge on the highest tax rate.
Additionally, authorities raised the annual income threshold for the 35 percent tax rate from Rs. 4.1 million to Rs. 7 million. Despite these measures, salaried workers continued paying significantly more than several other sectors.
Retailers and wholesalers jointly paid Rs. 12 billion in withholding taxes during the period. Their contribution declined Rs. 440 million, or 3.5 percent, from the previous year.
Therefore, salaried individuals paid Rs. 79 billion, or 658 percent, more than retailers and wholesalers. The figures come as FBR also faces challenges meeting its overall collection targets.
FBR missed its August target by Rs. 27 billion, while monthly revenue showed almost no growth. However, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif recently said enforcement recovered Rs. 800 billion last fiscal year.
The claim could not be independently verified. Meanwhile, FBR collected Rs. 13.01 trillion during FY26, an increase of Rs. 1.26 trillion from the previous year.
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