Pakistan’s tax authority is bleeding talent faster than it can collect revenue.
The FBR (Federal Board of Revenue) has lost hundreds of experienced staff members in the past 18 months. They’re heading to banks, multinational corporations, and private consultancies. The reason? Better pay. Better benefits. Respect that actually exists. The government salary of 80,000 rupees monthly doesn’t compete with private sector offers hitting 200,000 rupees or more.
This isn’t just about hurt feelings. When tax collectors leave, tax collection collapses. Pakistan already struggles to hit its revenue targets—sitting at just 12% of GDP compared to 15-20% in peer countries. An empty FBR means fewer audits, slower case processing, and a revenue shortfall that filters down to healthcare, education, and infrastructure budgets.
The Brain Drain Nobody’s Talking About
“The FBR’s institutional knowledge is walking out the door,” says Dr. Khalid Siraj, a tax policy analyst at the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics. “You lose senior officers with 15-20 years of experience, and suddenly your junior staff has no mentors.” Training new people takes years. Pakistan doesn’t have years to wait.
The government introduced a 20% salary increase last year. Sounds good on paper. In reality? Still not enough to match what private employers offer. A senior tax official making 180,000 rupees monthly sees a friend at Standard Chartered making 350,000 for similar work. The math is brutal.
Recruitment is equally broken. The FBR hasn’t conducted major recruitment drives since 2018. Positions stay vacant. The remaining staff burns out juggling three people’s workloads. Younger officers look at burnt-out seniors and think: not worth it.
For Pakistan, this is a slow-motion disaster. A weakened FBR means less tax revenue for IMF program targets. Less revenue means borrowing more. More borrowing means higher debt servicing costs that squeeze development spending. The cycle tightens.
The government needs an urgent intervention: competitive salaries, career clarity, and actual working conditions that respect human beings. Without it, Pakistan’s tax system doesn’t just underperform—it fails.
