ISLAMABAD: The Asian Develop­ment Bank (ADB) has cautioned that blindly pursuing tax base expansion in Pakistan is unlikely to yield sustainable fiscal outcomes without a strategic focus on enforcement and meaningful compliance.

In a policy guide published on Tuesday, the ADB stated that Pakistan’s experience demonstrates that efforts to expand the tax base without ensuring compliance among existing taxpayers yield minimal revenue gains and increased administrative costs. Policymakers must gather systematic evidence to compare returns on investment between widening the tax base and improving compliance, the report noted.

The guide emphasised that expanding the tax net should only be pursued when the non-revenue benefits........

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