After the Pahalgam terror attack, people are weighing the strength of India and Pakistan. What is India's military power, what is India's air force power, etc. etc? But the real strength of any country is its people. In such a situation, what is the purchasing power of the people there, how prosperous are they, what is the tax burden on them and is the country's tax system the reason for them remaining poor? All these questions become important to measure the strength of a country. If you look at Pakistan's income tax system, you will know how much it lags behind India.

According to a report by PwC, Pakistan levies tax on its residents' worldwide income. Whereas non-resident Pakistanis pay tax only on the income earned in Pakistan.

The income tax structure of Pakistan

Pakistan has a different tax structure for salary class people and a different tax structure for other individuals. Salary class people are charged zero tax on income of 6 lakh Pakistani rupees. At the same time, the income of 12 lakh Pakistani rupees comes under the purview of a 5 percent tax. If converted into Indian rupees, then only income of 1.8 lakh rupees is tax-free for the salaried class there. Whereas they have to pay a 5 percent tax on income of 3.64 lakh rupees.

In this tax structure, 30 percent tax is levied on income up to 41 lakh Pakistani rupees and 35 percent tax is levied on income above that. 41 lakh Pakistani rupees in Indian currency is equal to about 12.46 lakh rupees.

Under the tax structure in the category of professionals, people have to pay 30 percent tax on income up to 32 lakh Pakistani rupees, 40 percent on income up to 56 lakh Pakistani rupees, and 45 percent tax on income above 56 lakh Pakistani rupees. If the maximum tax rate is seen, then 56 lakh Pakistani rupees in Indian currency is equal to about 17 lakh rupees. They have to pay a 45 percent tax on income above this.

So why are Pakistanis poor?
If we compare the tax changes and income tax laws in India, then the people of Pakistan seem to be far behind. The income that India has kept tax-free under the new tax regime, one has to pay a maximum income tax of 35 percent on that income in Pakistan. Whereas the highest rate of income tax in India is 30 percent.

Due to high taxes, common Pakistanis have disposable income. While this affects the country's economy, the standard of living of common people also remains very low.

According to the recent 'World Poverty Report' of the World Bank, India has brought 17 crore people out of the poverty line. Whereas in Pakistan, on the contrary, 19 lakh people are going to get trapped in the quagmire of poverty.

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