PRIME INSTITUTE

PRIME INSTITUTE PRIME is an Islamabad based economic think tank which promotes private enterprise for public good. Do such policies expand or inhibit liberty?

Vision: Open, Free and Prosperous Pakistan

PRIME Institute is a public policy research organization, a think tank, dedicated to the ideals of liberty, and limited government, free markets and development. Our Mission is to increase understanding of public policy based on these principles. We are fiercely independent, and non-partisan, with distinguished scholars from across Pakistan. Our primary

focus is to analyze the domestic and international policies of the Federal Government. If policies restrict freedom, we work to correct that. For example, why is Pakistan ranked 126th in Economic Freedom? Should the government be involved in the industry? What policies should be adopted to protect Pakistani citizens? And many such questions. Our philosophy can be described as Libertarian, which is generally interpreted to mean fiscally conservative and socially liberal. 2014-2-6 monogram prime

We organize summits, dialogues, and lectures which are open to the public. We have published monographs, periodical reports, and books. Our events and publications have evolved around a wide range of economic issues such as free trade, informal economy, housing policy, social protection, export development, national debt and power sector. Our experts have provided expert opinions to Parliament. Our experts have been called upon to assist the Supreme Court. Hundreds of students apply every year to our comprehensive internship program. Every year, we hold the National Freedom Awards, where we acknowledge citizens who have played a role in bringing liberty and prosperity into our lives. Our overriding concern is not with politicians, but with opinion leaders and the Pakistani public, who we reach through Op-eds, media interviews, podcasts, audiobooks, and our websites. Freedom needs a voice in Islamabad and the national media. If that is a value you share, support us, donate, or sponsor. You can follow us on Facebook, and twitter, subscribe to us on YouTube.

๐—ช๐—ฒ ๐—ฃ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฑ๐—น๐˜† ๐—ช๐—ฒ๐—น๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ฒ ๐—”๐—ป๐˜„๐—ฎ๐—ฟ ๐—ž๐—ฎ๐˜€๐—ต๐—ถ๐—ณ ๐— ๐˜‚๐—บ๐˜๐—ฎ๐˜‡ ๐—ฎ๐˜€ ๐—ก๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐—น ๐—–๐—ผ๐—ป๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐—ฟ, ๐—ง๐—ฎ๐˜… ๐—ฃ๐—ฎ๐˜†๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€ ๐—”๐—น๐—น๐—ถ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ฒ ๐—ฃ๐—ฎ๐—ธ๐—ถ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ป (๐—ง๐—ฃ๐—”๐—ฃ)Mr. Anwar Kashif Mumtaz ...
22/05/2026

๐—ช๐—ฒ ๐—ฃ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฑ๐—น๐˜† ๐—ช๐—ฒ๐—น๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ฒ ๐—”๐—ป๐˜„๐—ฎ๐—ฟ ๐—ž๐—ฎ๐˜€๐—ต๐—ถ๐—ณ ๐— ๐˜‚๐—บ๐˜๐—ฎ๐˜‡ ๐—ฎ๐˜€ ๐—ก๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐—น ๐—–๐—ผ๐—ป๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐—ฟ, ๐—ง๐—ฎ๐˜… ๐—ฃ๐—ฎ๐˜†๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€ ๐—”๐—น๐—น๐—ถ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ฒ ๐—ฃ๐—ฎ๐—ธ๐—ถ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ป (๐—ง๐—ฃ๐—”๐—ฃ)

Mr. Anwar Kashif Mumtaz is a Former President of the Pakistan Tax Bar Association. His expertise revolves around contentious and non-contentious corporate and tax matters, with over 25 years of experience, and he is an enrolled advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ด๐—ผ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ป๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜ ๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—ป๐˜€๐—ถ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ฎ ๐—ฝ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—ฝ๐—ผ๐˜€๐—ฎ๐—น ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—ถ๐—บ๐—ฝ๐—ผ๐˜€๐—ฒ ๐˜‡๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ผ ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ๐˜‚๐—ฐ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—™๐—ฒ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—น ๐—˜๐˜…๐—ฐ๐—ถ๐˜€๐—ฒ ๐——๐˜‚๐˜๐˜† (๐—™๐—˜๐——) ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐—ฎ ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐˜„ ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ด๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐˜† ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐—ท๐˜‚๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ๐˜€...
22/05/2026

๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ด๐—ผ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ป๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜ ๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—ป๐˜€๐—ถ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ฎ ๐—ฝ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—ฝ๐—ผ๐˜€๐—ฎ๐—น ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—ถ๐—บ๐—ฝ๐—ผ๐˜€๐—ฒ ๐˜‡๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ผ ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ๐˜‚๐—ฐ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—™๐—ฒ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—น ๐—˜๐˜…๐—ฐ๐—ถ๐˜€๐—ฒ ๐——๐˜‚๐˜๐˜† (๐—™๐—˜๐——) ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐—ฎ ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐˜„ ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ด๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐˜† ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐—ท๐˜‚๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ๐˜€.

When a 20% FED was imposed on packaged juices in the budget 2023-2024, in addition to the existing 18% sales tax, the overall tax burden on a bottle of packaged juice increased to about 38% of its retail price. ๐—ฆ๐—ฎ๐—น๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐˜ƒ๐—ผ๐—น๐˜‚๐—บ๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐—ต๐—ฎ๐—ฑ ๐—ฑ๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐˜€๐˜๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—น๐—น๐˜† ๐—ฑ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—ฝ๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—น๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—น๐˜€ ๐—น๐—ฎ๐˜€๐˜ ๐˜€๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐—ป ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฌ๐Ÿญ๐Ÿณ, ๐˜„๐—ถ๐—ฝ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐˜ ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—น๐˜† ๐—ฎ ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฑ๐˜‚๐˜€๐˜๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ฎ๐—น ๐—ฒ๐˜…๐—ฝ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐˜€๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฒ ๐—ณ๐—ถ๐˜€๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—น ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—ธ๐—ฒ. There have been no new investments made since this FED imposed in 2023. The government increased the tax rates in anticipation of higher revenues, but instead received a narrow taxable base.

Substack Link: https://tinyurl.com/yd9h77wd

21/05/2026

๐—ฃ๐—ฎ๐—ธ๐—ถ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ป'๐˜€ ๐Ÿญ๐˜€๐˜ ๐—ก๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐—น ๐—ง๐—ฎ๐˜… ๐—ฃ๐—ฎ๐˜†๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€ ๐—–๐—ผ๐—ป๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฌ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฒ

Tax Payers Alliance Pakistan (TPAP) and Policy Research Institute of Market Economy - PRIME Institute organised the 1st ever tax payers convention on 15th and 16th of May, 2026 at the Legend Hotel, G5, Islamabad bringing together compliant corporate leaders, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), salaried professionals, tax lawyers, and cross-party parliamentarians to demand a structural transition from an extractive tax mechanism to a partnership-based system built on public trust, procedural simplicity, and economic growth.

Over two days of intensive deliberations, more than 30 guest speakers, and 450 participants joined and reached a consensus: Pakistanโ€™s current fiscal framework is fundamentally broken, unsustainable, and actively penalizes compliant sectors while subsidizing informality. Key thematic discussions highlighted how hyper-complexity, overlapping federal-provincial jurisdictions, target-driven administrative harassment, and regressive indirect taxation have led to massive industrial closures, capital flight, and a severe breach of the social contract.

During the convention, the House unanimously passed the 15-Point Charter of Demands and the 50-Point Tax Payers' Bill of Rights.

๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ด๐—ผ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ป๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜ ๐—ถ๐—ป๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฑ๐˜€ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—ถ๐—บ๐—ฝ๐—น๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜ ๐˜๐—ฎ๐˜… ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜ ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐˜€๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐˜„๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐˜๐—ต ๐—ฅ๐˜€ ๐Ÿฐ๐Ÿฌ๐Ÿฌ-๐Ÿฑ๐Ÿฌ๐Ÿฌ ๐—ฏ๐—ถ๐—น๐—น๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐—™๐—ฌ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฌ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฒ-๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฌ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿณ.Withholding and...
20/05/2026

๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ด๐—ผ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ป๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜ ๐—ถ๐—ป๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฑ๐˜€ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—ถ๐—บ๐—ฝ๐—น๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜ ๐˜๐—ฎ๐˜… ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜ ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐˜€๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐˜„๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐˜๐—ต ๐—ฅ๐˜€ ๐Ÿฐ๐Ÿฌ๐Ÿฌ-๐Ÿฑ๐Ÿฌ๐Ÿฌ ๐—ฏ๐—ถ๐—น๐—น๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐—™๐—ฌ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฌ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฒ-๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฌ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿณ.

Withholding and minimum tax regimes currently account for 68% of the total tax revenue. The salaried class alone contributes Rs 420 billion in income tax, which is nearly twice as much as is received from real estate and retailers. The main issue is not evasion; rather, disproportionately high tax rates make non-compliance rational.

Read the complete article: https://substack.com//note/p-198524603

16/05/2026

1st National Tax Payers Convention 2026 (day 2) 2nd session

Join us TODAY for a key session of the 1st National Tax Payers Convention 2026. We are bringing together the countryโ€™s l...
16/05/2026

Join us TODAY for a key session of the 1st National Tax Payers Convention 2026. We are bringing together the countryโ€™s leading economic minds for a deep dive into the current tax system.

Our panel, "Tax Framework: Analysis and Critique," will feature a rigorous discussion on the challenges and reforms needed to create a more equitable and efficient framework for all.

Featured Panelists:
Dr. Kaiser Bengali (Senior Economist)
Dr. Nadeem Ul Haque (Senior Economist)
Dr. Vaqar Ahmed (Senior Economist)
Sakib Sherani (Senior Economist)

Moderator: Dr. Ali Salman (CEO, PRIME)

๐Ÿ“ Venue: Legend Hotel, Ataturk Ave, G-5/2, Islamabad
๐Ÿ“… Date: 16th May, 2026 (Today!)

Be part of the conversation that matters. See you there!

16/05/2026

1st National Tax Payers Convention 2026 (day 2)

15/05/2026

Day 1 of the 1st National Tax Payers Convention 2026 continued with discussions on illicit trade, tax politics, taxpayer rights and the Charter of Demands.

The second half featured panels and discussions with Dr Ali Salman, Tuaha Adil, Usman Shaukat, Zaheeruddin Dar, Khurram Husain, Dr Nafisa Shah, Senator Zeeshan Khanzada, Syed Firasat Shah, Dr Aasim Sajjad Akhtar, Nilofar A. Gardezi, Anas Farhan, Usman Azmat, Sehrish Naz and Raja Amer Iqbal.

Major themes included:
โ€ข Illicit trade and tax evasion
โ€ข IMF constraints and fiscal policy
โ€ข Petroleum levy and indirect taxation
โ€ข Progressive taxation and federalism
โ€ข Taxpayers Bill of Rights
โ€ข Charter of Demands for tax reform
โ€ข Compliance costs and taxpayer representation

The First National Tax Payers Convention is happening!Venue: Legend Hotel, Ataturk Avenue, G-5/2, Islamabad As a pre-bud...
15/05/2026

The First National Tax Payers Convention is happening!

Venue: Legend Hotel, Ataturk Avenue, G-5/2, Islamabad

As a pre-budget gathering, the convention is built upon a fundamental principle: documented and compliant taxpayers should no longer carry a disproportionate burden within a system often characterized by complexity and unequal treatment.

Our objective is to amplify the taxpayerโ€™s voice and demand a framework defined by:
- Fairness in distribution.
- Simplicity in process.
- Predictability in policy.
- Accountability in public trust.

We were honored to have Bilal Azhar Kayani, Honourable Minister of State for Finance and Railways, deliver the keynote address, underscoring the government's commitment to systemic reforms.

15/05/2026

The 1st National Tax Payers Convention 2026 has officially begun in Islamabad.

The first half of Day 1 featured opening remarks by Dr Ali Salman, keynote remarks by Bilal Azhar Kayani, Minister of State for Finance and Revenue, and major discussions on tax complexity, business compliance and Pakistanโ€™s tax structure.

Speakers included Dr Ali Salman, Bilal Azhar Kayani, Dr Khalil Ahmad, Dr Shimail Daud, Javed Iqbal, Arshad Dad, Ahsan Malik, Ahmed Bashir, Dr Ikramul Haq, Anwar Kashif Mumtaz and Asfandyar Farrukh.

Key themes included:
โ€ข Lower and simpler taxation
โ€ข The burden on compliant taxpayers
โ€ข FBR reform and digitisation
โ€ข Construction, steel and real estate sector concerns
โ€ข Tax harmonisation and policy predictability
โ€ข Growth-oriented taxation and taxpayer dignity

13/05/2026

๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐—ด๐—ถ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐—ก๐—ผ๐˜„: https://tinyurl.com/3rv8kf7u

๐—ฅ๐—ฎ๐—ท๐—ฎ ๐—”๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐—œ๐—พ๐—ฏ๐—ฎ๐—น, ๐—™๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐—–๐—ต๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐—ฟ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐—ป, ๐—ง๐—ฎ๐˜… ๐—ฃ๐—ฎ๐˜†๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€ ๐—”๐—น๐—น๐—ถ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ฒ ๐—ฃ๐—ฎ๐—ธ๐—ถ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ป (๐—ง๐—ฃ๐—”๐—ฃ) ๐—ถ๐—ป๐˜ƒ๐—ถ๐˜๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—ฝ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ถ๐—ฝ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ฒ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐—ฃ๐—ฎ๐—ธ๐—ถ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ป'๐˜€ ๐—™๐—ถ๐—ฟ๐˜€๐˜ ๐—ก๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐—น ๐—ง๐—ฎ๐˜… ๐—ฃ๐—ฎ๐˜†๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€ ๐—–๐—ผ๐—ป๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฌ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฒ.

The convention is organized by the ๐—ฃ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—บ๐—ฒ ๐—œ๐—ป๐˜€๐˜๐—ถ๐˜๐˜‚๐˜๐—ฒ and ๐—ง๐—ฎ๐˜… ๐—ฃ๐—ฎ๐˜†๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€ ๐—”๐—น๐—น๐—ถ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ฒ ๐—ฃ๐—ฎ๐—ธ๐—ถ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ป as a pre-budget exercise to present recommendations for tax reforms and for a market-driven economy.

Date: 15th - 16th May, 2026
Venue: Legend Hotel, 56A Ataturk Avenue, G-5/2, Islamabad

Address

House 1, Street 58, Sector F-7/4
Islamabad
44000

Opening Hours

Monday 09:00 - 17:00
Tuesday 09:00 - 17:00
Wednesday 09:00 - 17:00
Thursday 09:00 - 17:00
Friday 09:00 - 17:00

Telephone

+92518314337

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