ISLAMABAD: The newly-compiled tax data has revealed a serious crisis of tax compliance within Pakistan’s medical sector.
According to the latest data, 130,243 doctors are registered across Pakistan, yet only 56,287 filed tax returns this year. This means more than 73,000 registered medical practitioners did not file any return at all, despite being active in one of the country’s highest-earning sectors.
The disclosures highlight striking inconsistencies between visibly busy private medical practitioners and the incomes they reported to the Federal Board of Revenue.
The data revealed that 31,870 doctors declared zero income from private practice in 2025, 307 practitioners reported losses despite full patient loads across major cities, and only 24,137 doctors acknowledged earning any business income whatsoever.
Even among those who did file, declared tax contributions remain disproportionately low in relation to estimated earnings. As many as 17,442 doctors with receipts above Rs. 1 million contributed an average of Rs. 1,894 per day in taxes. Similarly, 10,922 doctors earning Rs. 1–5 million annually contributed just Rs. 1,094 per day, and 3,312 doctors in the Rs. 5–10 million bracket paid an average of Rs. 1,594 per day while doctors charging Rs. 2,000–10,000 per patient are, in many cases, declaring less than the tax value of a single consultation per day.
The highest-earning 3,327 doctors, with receipts exceeding Rs. 10 million, contributed only Rs. 5,500 per day. Whereas 38,761 practitioners reporting receipts below Rs. 1 million declared they owed just Rs. 791 per day in taxes. Meanwhile, 31,524 doctors declared zero receipts but collectively claimed Rs. 1.3 billion in tax refunds.
These figures contrast sharply with the visible reality of packed private clinics each evening and high per-patient consultation fees. For comparison, a Grade 17–18 salaried government officer contributes more in monthly taxes than many doctors contribute over an entire quarter, despite having far less flexibility in reporting income.
This raises a fundamental question of whether the country can sustain itself on the taxes of those whose incomes cannot be concealed, while high-earning sectors underreport or fail to report at all. Unfortunately, the high-earning sectors report minimal income.
This emerging compliance gap underscores an urgent need for effective enforcement actions to restore fairness in the tax system. Compliance among high-earning professions is no longer optional. It is now essential to national stability.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025