Salaried individuals: FY25 WHT collection soars 54.7pc to Rs605.593bn YoY

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has collected Rs 605.593 billion withholding taxes from the salaried class during 2024-25 against Rs 391.362 billion in 2023-24, reflecting an extraordinary increase of 54.7 percent.

According to a FBR report released on Thursday, the FBR has claimed that the percentage share of withholding taxes in total direct taxes collection remained 59 percent in 2024-25 against 60 percent in 2023-24.

In case of contracts, the FBR collected Rs737.715 billion in 2024-25 against Rs530.724 billion, reflecting an increase of 39 percent. The WHT collection from electricity bills totaled at Rs144.371 billion in 2024-25 against Rs129.815 billion in 2023-24 reflecting an increase of 11.2 percent.

Income tax returns: Pakistan salaried class encountering problems

Notably, WHT collection from salaries registered the highest increase of approximately Rs. 214.2 billion (55percent growth), primarily due to decrease in number of income tax slabs and increase of corresponding tax rates in each slab. This policy shift resulted in an increase from Rs. 391.4 billion in FY 2023-24 to Rs. 605.6 billion in FY 2024-25 under withholding tax collection from salaries. This was followed by substantial increase in collections from Contracts, Imports, Telephone and exports.

A composition of WHT collection is depicted that major items contribute towards 71.1percent of total withholding tax collection. In fiscal year (2024-25), percentage share of withholding taxes in total Income tax collection was 59percent compared to 60percent in previous financial year. The WHT collection reached Rs. 3,381.5 billion, a significant increase from Rs. 2,739.1 billion in the previous financial year, marking a growth of 23.5percent.

Top 15 major revenue spinners for 2024-25 remained almost the same as in previous financial year except for salaries which now account for the second highest in current financial year. Fourteen out of 15 major components of WHT collection registered positive growth, except bank interest & securities, which dropped by -1.6, the report added.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025