As Pakistan approaches Budget 2026-27, its fiscal federalism is mired in stagnation rather than progress. The 11th National Finance Commission (NFC), constituted in August 2025 amid much anticipation, has held multiple meetings and formed working groups on critical issues. Yet, a consensus award rem ..
Pakistan’s poverty crisis is deeper than the government is willing to admit, and the gap between official claims and what people are actually living through has rarely looked this wide. The Social Policy and Development Centre’s latest research, based on household-level data from the Household I ..
پاکستان کی معیشت دوراہے پر Read more ..
EDITORIAL: Social Policy and Development Centre (SPDC) has calculated the poverty rate at 43.5 percent – 14.3 percent in excess of the official figure calculated by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics of 28.9 percent gleaned from the Household Integrated Economic Survey 2024-5. https://www.brecor ..
SEMINAR ON TOBACCO FACT SHEET PUBLIC HEALTH AND FISCAL EFFECTS OF CIGARETTE TAX REFORM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnsgN38UnnE ..
Poverty Incidence Rises to 43.5%, urban areas worst affected https://epaper.thefinancialdaily.com/epaper/edition/2548/the-financial-daily-epaper-01-04-2026/page/3 ..
In Pakistan, the official poverty estimates are provided by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics and the Planning Commission using household consumption data from the Household Integrated Economic Survey (HIES). The latest official estimates, based on the HIES 2024-25, indicate that 28.9% of the countr ..
KARACHI (Staff Reporter): Poverty in Pakistan has increased significantly in recent years, with independent estimates indicating a sharpter rise than official figures, particularly in urban areas. Read more ..
Poverty in Pakistan may be significantly higher than official estimates suggest, according to a new report that points to a widening gap between government data and independent analysis. Research by the Social Policy and Development Centre (SPDC) puts the national poverty rate at 43.5 per cent, m ..
KARACHI: Poverty in Pakistan has surged to 43.5%, according to the Social Policy and Development Centre (SPDC), indicating a far graver situation than official estimates by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) and the Planning Commission, which place poverty at 28.9%. https://tribune.com.pk/st ..
پاکستان میں غربت کی شرح ساڑھے 43 فیصد تک پہنچنے کا انکشاف https://ummat.net/epaper/news.php?date=2026/03/29/&p=news-35.gif ..
ISLAMABAD, Dec 15 (APP): Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb on Monday held a detailed meeting with a delegation of the Social Policy and Development Centre (SPDC), led by its Chairman Javed Jabbar, to discuss key structural, fiscal and socio-economic challenges and e ..
December 16, 2025 (MLN): Government priorities on economic reform, fiscal federalism and evidence-based policymaking were reinforced as part of efforts to strengthen governance, fiscal sustainability and long-term development. These issues were discussed at a meeting between the Federal Minist ..
وفد سے ملاقات، معاشی اصلاحات، این ایف سی اور موسمیاتی چیلنجز پر گفتگو SPDC وزیر خزانہ محمد اورنگزیب کی https://lafz.com.pk/news/25529/finance-minister-meets-spdc-delegation-discusses-economic-refor ..
ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb, on Monday held a detailed and wide-ranging meeting with a delegation of the Social Policy and Development Centre (SPDC), led by its Chairman, Javed Jabbar. The delegation included SPDC Board Members Ahmed Farooq Baza ..
ISLAMABAD: The Centre has notified eight committees of the National Finance Commission (NFC), including one on debt utilisation and the transfer of expenditures to provinces, following the attorney general's support for the federal government against Sindh's objections. The development came as Pa ..
Federal Minister for Finance & Revenue, Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb, today met a delegation of the Social Policy and Development Centre (SPDC) led by Chairman Mr. Javed Jabbar to discuss Pakistan’s key structural, fiscal, and socio-economic challenges and avenues for evidence-based policy suppo ..
اسلام آباد:وفاقی وزیرِ خزانہ سینیٹر محمد اورنگزیب نے کہا ہے کہ اصلاحات کا مقصد روزگار میں کمی نہیں بلکہ سرکاری اداروں میں موجود نااہلی، مالی ضیاع اور غیر ضروری سبسڈی ..
ISLAMABAD, Nov 7 (INP-Wealth Pakistan): Pakistan’s fiscal model has become unsustainable and requires urgent, consensus-driven reform to ensure fair development and stronger national unity. This was the central message of a high-level webinar titled “Unlocking Pakistan’s Financial Future: The ..
The recent establishment of the Tax Policy Office (TPO)—separating the critical function of tax policy design from the revenue collection mandate of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR)—is more than a bureaucratic reshuffle; it constitutes a litmus test for economic governance in Pakistan. This in ..
سندھ بجٹ: معاشی ترقی کیلئے دور دراز علاقوں کو شہری مراکز سے جوڑا جائے: جامعہ لطیف کے تحت آن لائن سیشن https://theindustribune.com/2025/07/09/%D8%B3%D9%86%D8%AF%DA%BE-%D8%A8%D8%AC%D9%B9-%D9%85%D8%B9% ..
As Pakistan continues to navigate persistent fiscal challenges, the recent budget documents for FY 2025-26, presented this month, contain an astonishing anomaly that demands immediate attention. It concerns the Federal Excise Duty (FED) on cigarettes – a seemingly mundane line item that, upon clos ..
KARACHI: The tobacco industry is facing criticism for allegedly manipulating data to pressure the government and IMF into reducing taxes, including a proposal to cut the Federal Excise Duty (FED) from Rs5,050 to Rs3,800 per 1,000 sticks, potentially making cigarettes cheaper and more accessible. ..
ISLAMABAD, May 30 (APP):Experts from leading policy think tanks and health advocates joined forces on Friday to spotlight the manipulation and interference of the tobacco industry in Pakistan’s tax policy—just ahead of the federal and provincial budget announcements. The seminar titled “Unm ..
Over the past few weeks, an extensive media campaign has been launched, making exaggerated claims about the illegal cigarette trade and advocating for tax reductions. This campaign has been widely publicized, attempting to paint a picture of rampant illicit trade in the cigarette market, allegedly c ..
Article available on Opinion - Page-5 of The Patriot epaper https://dailythepatriot.com/epaper/editions/daily-the-patriot-13-05-2025/ ..
The Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (SPARC), in collaboration with the Social Policy and Development Centre (SPDC), launched “The Price of Health: Cigarette Tax Simulation Model 2025–26.” This model provides evidence-based insights into how effective tobacco taxation can ..
LAHORE: The Social Policy and Development Centre (SPDC), a policy research institute has expressed serious concerns over the country’s worsening tobacco epidemic, a crisis that continues to claim lives, burden the economy, and threaten the nation’s future. https://www.brecorder.com/ ..
A well-orchestrated campaign advocating for reduced cigarette taxes has recently gained momentum, primarily driven by the cigarette industry. Their arguments crystallize into three core assertions: First, they contend that the prevailing tax structure is crippling large-scale manufacturing, inclu ..
The first half of fiscal year 2025 has painted a perplexing picture of Pakistan’s cigarette industry. The latest data on cigarette production and tax collection in Pakistan reveals that production is soaring compared to the same period last year, yet tax revenues are mysteriously declining. To fur ..
Federal subsidies in Pakistan, particularly those directed towards the power sector, have raised significant concerns regarding transparency, effectiveness, and their impact on poverty alleviation. For the fiscal year 2023-24, the initial budget allocated PKR 894 billion for electricity subsidies ..
ISLAMABAD, Nov 16 (APP): Speakers at a seminar believed in commitment to leveraging taxation as a critical tool for public health and economic sustainability. The seminar titled “Taxing Tobacco: A Path to Reducing Consumption and Saving Lives”, was organized by the Sustainable Development Pol ..
کراچی -- پاکستان میں اس وقت کئی جگہوں پر شہریوں کو گھروں کے کرائے سے زیادہ بجلی کے بل موصول ہو رہے ہیں اور ملک میں توانائی کی بڑھتی ہوئی قیمتوں کے باعث حکومت پر شدید تنق ..
Health advocates concerned at no hike in cigarette tax rates https://www.brecorder.com/news/40311459 ..
Health advocates call for enhanced cigarette taxes for public health https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/1206791-health-advocates-call-for-enhanced-cigarette-taxes-for-public-health ..
SPDC and SPARC Jointly hold a Seminar on OPTIMIZING TOBACCO TAXATION IN PAKISTAN تمبا کو پر ٹیکسز میں اضافہ اسے روکنے میں معاون ثابت ہو سکتا ہے، مرتضیٰ سولنگی - AAJ https://dailythepatriot.com/epaper/wp-content/uploads/2024/0 ..
Expert Muhammad Sabir, emphasized the benefits of increased tobacco taxation, which has already shown significant revenue growth, reaching PKR 122 billion between July 2023 and January 2024. He said full-year projections exceed PKR 200 billion, representing a substantial increase compared to prev ..
Expert Muhammad Sabir, emphasized the benefits of increased tobacco taxation, which has already shown significant revenue growth, reaching PKR 122 billion between July 2023 and January 2024. https://islamabadpost.com.pk/tobacco-consumption-menace-for-youth-nation-mps/ ..
https://e.jang.com.pk/karachi/28-04-2024/page10 ..
https://www.brecorder.com/news/40292540?ref=whatsapp ..
https://www.samaa.tv/2087311045-experts-call-for-fed-increase-on-tobacco-to-help-economy-and-save-lives ..
The public anger at Senate Chairman’s entitlements scratches only the surface of the public spending rut. Budget-making pins hopes on raising taxes to match spending. In the IMF programmes, too, the adjustment focuses on taxes. The result has been the opposite of what was expected. From 13.8% in t ..
Fiscal and monetary policies are in contradiction to each other, which has negative implications for achieving the macroeconomic and fiscal targets presented by the government in the Federal Budget 2023-24. The budget portrays a weak resource mobilisation strategy, where net revenue receipts of t ..
کراچی(اسٹاف رپورٹر) مالیاور مالیاتی پالیسیاں ایک دوسرے سے متصادم ہیں جس کے وفاقی بجٹ 24-2023 میں حکومت کی طرف سے پیش کردہ میکرو اکنامک اور مالیاتی اہداف کے حصول پر منفی ا ..
صحت عامہ سے منسلک کارکنوں نے حکومت پر زور دیا کہ وہ تمباکو کی صنعت کے گمراہ کن ہتھکنڈوں سے ہوشیار رہے۔ https://www.express.com.pk/epaper/PoPupwindow.aspx?newsID=1110195827&Issue=NP_ISB&Dat ..
Health activists urged the government to be wary of the misleading tactics of tobacco industry which causes substantial loss to national exchequer each year. https://www.thenews.com.pk/amp/1074214-anti-smoking-event ..
The tobacco industry is declaring misleading statistics about the decline in the declared production of cigarettes to pressurise the policymakers in the upcoming budget (2023-24). https://www.brecorder.com/news/40244310 ..
Health activists urge the government to be wary of the misleading tactics of the tobacco industry which causes substantial losses to the national exchequer each year https://www.thefridaytimes.com/2023/05/26/tobacco-industry-overcharges-consumers-and-underreports-production/ ..
Health activists urged the government to be wary of the misleading tactics of tobacco industry which causes substantial loss to national exchequer each year. https://dailytimes.com.pk/1096801/govt-urged-to-be-wary-of-misleading-tactics-of-tobacco-industry/amp/ ..
Pakistan has scored 1.13 points out of 5 on the cigarette tax scorecard, standing at 131st position among 160 countries, which is a manifestation of a lax tax policy towards the tobacco sector. https://epaper.brecorder.com/2021/11/20/4-page/908355-news.html ..
Pakistan has scored 1.13 points out of 5 on the cigarette tax scorecard, standing at 131st position among 160 countries, which is a manifestation of a lax tax policy towards the tobacco sector. https://epaper.brecorder.com/2021/11/20/4-page/908355-news.html ..
Mian Nasser Hyatt Maggo, President FPCCI, has expressed his satisfaction over an MoU between Policy Advisory Board, FPCCI and Social Policy and Development Centre (SPDC) to conduct joint research studies on the issues pertaining to fiscal policies and macroeconomic framework, says a Press release. ..
Federal and provincial governments will have to share the responsibility of taking the development agenda forward for enhancing the wellbeing of people. These views were expressed by experts in a webinar hosted by the Social Policy and Development Centre (SPDC) to share the findings of their recent ..
While appreciating the analysis carried out by SPDC, Dr Pervez Tahir, Former Chief Economist at Government of Pakistan, endorsed the idea of statistical selectivity of the SDGs for the analysis. He also expressed his disappointment with the role of Federal and Provincial Governments when it comes to ..
At a time when think-tanks are tanking or being replaced by think-this or -that, it is encouraging to see Social Policy and Development Centre (SPDC) maintaining its tradition, started in 1995, of producing an authentic annual report on issues skirted by the policymakers and tangential to the mainst ..
Pakistan’s progress on Sustainable Goals (SDGs) has not been impressive so far. Federal and provincial governments will have to share the responsibility of taking the development agenda forward for enhancing the wellbeing of people. https://epaper.thefinancialdaily.com/epaper/edition ..
Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Mohammad Khan on Thursday said the government will take all necessary measures to ensure the implementation of relevant laws to enhance tax on cigarettes. Speaking to participants of a seminar titled ‘Implications of the Cigarette Tax Policy in Pa ..
Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan says government will take all necessary measures to ensure the implementation of all relevant laws to enhance tax on cigarettes to reduce health cost. Addressing a seminar in Islamabad, he said reformulation of the health strategy that ..
Social Policy and Development Centre (SPDC) in collaboration with the Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (SPARC) organized a seminar on "Implications of the Cigarette Tax Policy in Pakistan" here at local hotel https://www.urdupoint.com/en/pakistan/seminar-on-implicat ..
The speakers highlighted that enhancing the FED rate would help the government achieve its commitment to reducing tobacco use and tobacco-related morbidity, mortality, and associated economic costs. Such an increase would also advance Pakistan’s obligations as a signatory country to the WHO FCTC a ..
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: Ali Muhammad Khan, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs said that the government will take all necessary measures to ensure the implementation of all relevant laws to enhance tax on cigarettes to boost its revenue and reduce health costs. Speaking at a seminar on “Im ..
The Social Policy and Development Centre (SPDC) hosted a webinar on ‘Cigarette Taxation in Pakistan.’ The purpose of this webinar was to discuss the implications of the cigarette tax policy of Pakistan for cigarette consumption, government revenues and health outcomes, particularly in the contex ..
The Social Policy and Development Centre (SPDC) hosted a webinar on ‘Cigarette Taxation in Pakistan.’ The purpose of this webinar was to discuss the implications of the cigarette tax policy of Pakistan for cigarette consumption, government revenues and health outcomes, particularly in the contex ..
The Social Policy and Development Centre (SPDC) hosted a webinar on ' Cigarette Taxation in Pakistan' on Thursday, June 17, 2021. The purpose of this webinar was to discuss the implications of the cigarette tax policy of Pakistan for cigarette consumption, government revenues and health outcomes, pa ..
Federal Parliamentary Secretary for Health Dr Nausheen Hamid, Monday, said that tobacco taxation and related health issues need constant monitoring systems, and hence, the federal government is committed to come up with such systems. https://www.brecorder.com/news/40094909 ..
Federal Parliamentary Secretary for Health, Dr Nausheen Hamid, has said that the tobacco taxation and related health issues need constant monitoring systems and the federal government is committed to come up with such systems. She said this while speaking at the webinar ‘Fiscal intervention for he ..
Pakistan is a high tobacco-burden country where more than 29 million adults currently use tobacco in any form. Estimates based on Pakistan’s Household Integrated Economic Survey (HIES) 2018–19 indicate that tobacco is consumed in more than 45 per cent of the households in the country—the ratio ..
Raising tax revenues during the third wave of Covid-19 is a daunting task for the policymakers in Pakistan. There are hardly any policy options available for the federal government to raise tax revenues during these challenging times. In this scenario, Social Policy and Development Centre’s (SPDC) ..
According to a policy note released by the SPDC, to fulfil its long-term commitment to using tax and price measures to reduce tobacco consumption, the government must continue reforming the tobacco tax system by a) implementing significant excise tax increases to make cigarettes progressively more e ..
The in-depth analysis shows that raising the excise tax rate even by only 30 percent would result in 219,000 fewer smokers, a 3.8 percent reduction in smoking prevalence among adults, and the prevention of 424,000 smoking-attributable deaths, including 348,000 future young smokers. On the revenue si ..
The tobacco tax reform proposed by SPDC would greatly help the Pakistani government to meet its commitment to tobacco reduction and death from NCDs in line with its commitment to achieve SDG-16 and align its tobacco tax policies with global best practices . http://taxlaw.revie ..
Currently, the average excise tax on cigarettes in Pakistan is at 45.4 percent of the retail price. Increasing the tax rate will improve health outcomes by reducing cigarette consumption and generating additional revenues for the government, according to the SPDC’s policy note titled ‘Modelling ..
Currently, the average excise tax on cigarettes in Pakistan is at 45.4 percent of the retail price. Increasing the tax rate will improve health outcomes by reducing cigarette consumption and generating additional revenues for the government, according to the SPDC’s policy note titled ‘Modelling ..
This would not only help curb tobacco use in the country but would also contribute to generating more revenues that can be used for promoting public health. https://www.brecorder.com/news/40086042/spdc-urges-govt-to-increase-tax-on-tobacco-in-upcoming-federal-budget ..
The average excise tax share on cigarettes in Pakistan is 45.4% of the retail price, much lower than the WHO minimum recommended rate of 70%. https://citynews.com.pk/2021/04/19/tobacco-taxation-a-win-win-policy-for-improving-health-outcomes-and-revenue-generation/ ..
Parliamentarians and activists at a seminar on Monday demanded increase duties on tobacco products, as the taxes in Pakistan were below the standards set by World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). https://www.dawn.com/news/1606334/govt-asked-t ..
Tobacco control activists demand that the government shall increase FED on tobacco products, including smokeless tobacco products, in Pakistan. Currently, there are two tax slabs for cigarettes. An amount of Rs33 FED is imposed on cigarettes costing less than Rs90 per packet and Rs90 on cigarettes w ..
Mr. Wasim, Center for Social Policy and Development, said that the excise tax in Pakistan is still below Rs. 90 billion. The FBR achieved this in 2015-2016. Since June 2019, the rate of excise duty on cigarettes has not changed but the price of cigarettes has increased. Excise duty was not the main ..
According to an estimate by the Ministry of National Health Services (NHS), Regulations and Coordination, more than 1,200 children between the ages of five to 15 start to smoke every day in Pakistan. There are at least 20 million under-aged or minor smokers in the country, where the legal age of smo ..
According to an estimate by the Ministry of National Health Services (NHS) Regulations and Coordination, 1,200 children between the ages of 5 to 15 start to smoke every day in Pakistan. This amounts to 20 million under-aged or minor smokers in the country, where the legal age of smoking is 18 years. ..
حکومت پاکستان بھی ایکسپورٹرز کو فوری ریلیف فراہم کرے اورجلد ازجلدایکسپورٹرز کے سیلز ٹیکس ریفنڈز کلیمزکی فوری ادا کرے،کسٹمر ریبٹ، ڈی ڈی ٹی اور ڈی ایل ٹی ایل کی ادائی ..
ISLAMABAD: With claim of causing losses of Rs153 billion to national exchequer by tobacco industry through various tactics, the anti-tobacco campaigners have asked government to place an independent and transparent Track & Trace System to stop under-reporting of real production. Read more... ..
Pakistan’s major tobacco industry caused a whopping loss of Rs153 billion to the national exchequer from 2016 to 2019 as it was levied low tax rate and allowed price adjustment of their most sold brands. Read more... https://pakobserver.net/deceptive-tactics-of-tobacco-industry-rs153b ..
The tax officers swooped as soon as the truck pulled out of the covert warehouse. Inside the vehicle, they found what they were hunting for: More than 1.3 million black-market cigarettes, all with branding from a subsidiary of one of the world’s largest tobacco companies, Philip Morris. Read more. ..
Islamabad: January 10, 2020 – Tobacco industry is causing heavy losses to exchequer by under reporting and manipulating facts, government is spending 200 billion rupees every year on tobacco related diseases whereas the earning in the form of taxes from tobacco industry is not more than 110 billi ..
The three-tier structure of excise duty on cigarettes introduced in 2017 has not only led to a significant increase in the consumption of cigarettes but also resulted in substantial revenue loss of Rs 42.5 billion in 2017-18. Therefore, the price-tier-based structure of FED should be abolished, and ..
The three-tier tobacco FED regime introduced in May 2017 has led to multiple controversies. (Read: ‘A case against multi-tier tobacco tax regime,’ published December 16, 2018). One of those is the billions in tax revenues that are suspected to have been lost in the past one and a half years.Read ..
Introduced in May 2017 to counter alleged trade of illicit cigarettes, the three-tier tobacco FED regime has been controversial since the start. (Read ‘Illicit cigarettes: a smokescreen?’ published April 13, 2018). Read more ..
Conceding political clout being used by the players of tobacco industry as major stumbling block for increasing taxation, the FBR stated that the tax collection from cigarettes would be increased from the existing Rs114 billion to Rs200 billion over next three years.Read more ..
اسلام آباد ( مہتاب حیدر) ایف بی آر نے کہا ہے کہ اگلے تین سال میں سگریٹ سے ٹیکس وصولی 114ارب سے بڑھ کر200 ارب ہو جائے گی، ایف بی آر کے ممبر ان لینڈ ریونیو پالیسی ڈاکٹر حام ..
A latest study estimates that FBR suffered tax loss of over Rs30 billion in 2018 on account of duty-non-paid (DNP) cigarettes. The tobacco industry observers will be quick to recall how the “DNP cigarettes" have become a bête noire for the formal tobacco players like Pakistan Tobacco and Philip M ..
The tobacco industry makes a hue and cry about high taxation and smuggling every time irregularities in the industry are brought up. But even as they badger the government into curbing smuggling, here is how they are cheating on their tax liabilities.Read more ..
ISLAMABAD: With claim of causing losses of Rs153 billion to national exchequer by tobacco industry through various tactics, the anti-tobacco campaigners have asked government to place an independent and transparent Track & Trace System to stop under-reporting of real production. Read more ..
ISLAMABAD: With claim of causing losses of Rs153 billion to national exchequer by tobacco industry through various tactics, the anti-tobacco campaigners have asked government to place an independent and transparent Track & Trace System to stop under-reporting of real production. Read more ..
ISLAMABAD: The Society for Protection of the Rights of the Child (Sparc), Human Development Foundation (HDF) and Pakistan National Heart Association (Panah) organised a session on ‘Loss of revenue because of deceptive tactics of tobacco industry’ on Friday.Read more ..
Members of civil society, consumers’ rights groups and non-government organizations (NGOs) have called upon the government to impose health levy on cigarettes without further delay. Read more... ..
Pakistan’s major tobacco industry caused a whopping loss of Rs153 billion to the national exchequer from 2016 to 2019 as it was levied low tax rate and allowed price adjustment of their most sold brands. Read more ..
Speakers at a media awareness session here on Wednesday said the higher taxes on tobacco products created a win-win situation as these resulted in increasing revenues and also improving public health due to reduction in tobacco consumption. Read more... ..
Waseem Saleem, Senior Economist at Social Policy and Development Centre (SPDC) said that the large fiscal imbalances in Pakistan require greater tax revenues. He added that the level of under-reporting of cigarette production in Pakistan has negative implications for government tax revenue. Read mo ..
Islamabad : Tobacco use has a significant impact on the economic costs of a country, including the healthcare costs for treating tobacco related diseases and lost productivity of workforce. Read more... ..
