ISLAMABAD, October 3, 2026: The World Bank has urged Pakistan to tighten enforcement of agricultural income tax and overhaul how provinces tax property, Business Recorder reported today.
The recommendations came up during a meeting between Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and a World Bank team led by Country Director Bolormaa Amgaabazar.
On agriculture, the Bank wants provinces to implement their amended tax laws, set up digital registration, filing and payment, and share more data with federal authorities. The sector accounts for about 24 percent of GDP, yet most of it sits outside the tax net.
Property was the other focus. Pakistan collects only about 0.13 percent of GDP in property tax, against 0.3 to 0.6 percent in many comparable economies. The Bank called for a single, harmonised valuation approach, better digital systems, and a gradual move away from outdated administrative valuations toward market-based values.
The discussions went beyond tax. The Bank also raised GST harmonisation, closer coordination between Islamabad and the provinces, stronger revenue-policy modelling and delivery of the Medium-Term Revenue Strategy.Â
On business conditions, it pointed to simpler regulation, SME financing, insolvency reform, factoring legislation and export-finance products through EXIM Bank. Capital-market reforms were also on the table, aimed at widening financing options and encouraging investment.
The report presents all of this as proposals under discussion. It does not mention a new property-tax rate, an immediate nationwide increase or a date for introducing market-value taxation.
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Sources:
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