To make the country self-sufficient in financial resources and get rid of debt on a sustainable basis, it is necessary to bring the tax revenue to the level of at least 13 percent of the gross national product, while this ratio is close to 9 percent at present.

This is due to non-receipt of taxes from many sectors according to their proportion in the gross national product. Among them, agriculture, retailing and different types of services are at the top. The collection of agricultural tax is prominent among the economic reforms that have been mandated by the IMF in Pakistan. Agricultural tax has been talked about for decades, but the association of the influential classes with landlords and feudalism in general is hindering its implementation. Everyone has to give up tax evasion. According to some experts, if the agricultural tax can be fully collected, this amount can reach up to 1500 billion rupees, but in a newspaper report, with reference to the sources of FBR, it has been stated that at present, the federal government with the help of the provinces will collect up to 300 billion rupees. 

FBR has directed the provincial authorities to adopt the federal schedule of agricultural income tax. For this purpose, the provincial governments will have to amend the agricultural income tax law so that from next year under a uniform system, tax can be levied on the agricultural income of all large landowners. If the tax net increases, the rate of taxes will definitely decrease and all the citizens will benefit from it. Undoubtedly, bringing the national economy out of the crisis by bringing all areas of life under the tax regime is an inevitable requirement of the situation because the countries that depend on others in the economy do not even have their national autonomy.  It may be mentioned here that the IMF has asked the provinces to amend their laws and impose an income tax of up to 45% on agricultural income. Under the constitution, the implementation of tax on agricultural income falls under the category of provincial governments.   The non-imposition of tax on agricultural income is a long-standing issue and has been raised several times.

The consensus between Pakistan and the IMF, that the implementation of the proposed structural benchmark by the end of October 2024.  The four provinces will amend the tax laws related to agricultural income to bring it at par with the corporate tax levied at the federal level.  It is said that the provinces have expressed their willingness to increase the agricultural income tax.  The revised agricultural income tax will come into effect from January 1, 2025. Under the terms of the IMF, it has also been agreed that if any province imposes agricultural income tax. If it feels any challenge in collection, it can authorize FBR to collect this tax on its behalf.  The IMF plans to amend the laws to align the allied tax system of the four provinces with the personal income and corporate income systems. Despite being a 24% contributor to the economy, the agriculture sector contributes 0.1% of the total tax collection.  The World Bank has estimated in a report that it can potentially collect up to 1.22 trillion rupees in tax in Pakistan, which is a percentage of the national income. Meanwhile, experts also say that after the impositon of tax on agriculture income, the prices of  grains, fruits and vegetables will further soar, to add to the woes of the common man. On the other hand, the Govt says that this will not happen. But the fact is that when a goverment imposes tax on any sector, the prices increase and its mainly the common man who bears the brunt of the situation. As a matter of fact, agriculture has a key position in Pakistan's economy. There are vast opportunities to increase agricultural exports, so it is possible to increase them only through modern technology and research and development.  This vital sector requires special attention to increase exports. China has made progress by using modern technology in the agricultural sector.  We should also benefit from their experiences.   Plans are afoot that every year 1000 graduates will be sent to China for agricultural training.  Modern technological methods have to be adopted in agriculture to add value to our products.  Currently, our agricultural exports have exceeded three billion dollars and have set a target of seven billion dollars for the current financial year.  This is a big task, if the federation and the provinces focus on the agricultural sector together, every difficulty can be easy.  More than sixty percent of the country's population lives in villages.  The experts are right to say that providing loans to farmers in rural areas will increase production. Not only exports but also joint agricultural projects can be started in Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait and Turkey.  

The trade volume from Turkey will take up to fifteen billion dollars, which can be a big achievement.  In recent months, the second Food and Agriculture Exhibition in Karachi indicated that the world is interested in investment in agri sector in Pakistan. The delegates from all over the world were present, the representatives of Chinese companies were also there. Now Pak-China friendly relations will have to be transformed into extensive investment and trade in agriculture, IT sectors.  The next phase of CPEC will consist of business-to-business arrangements. Since the plans are to increase the annual exports to sixty billion dollars. agri sector can play a role in it. If such plans and strategy is implemented, there is no reason why the country's economy should not develop on war footings.