PAFLA Says Freelancers Should Get a Tax Break

The government should stop paying experts who work for foreign clients and bring important business to the country.

In a budget proposal sent to the government and relevant authorities, the Pakistan Freelancers Association (PAFLA) asked the government to eliminate the variable tax rate freelancers had to pay on every income transaction they made in their bank accounts. This rate ranged from 1% for return filers to 2% for non-filers.

Tufail Ahmed Khan, the CEO of PAFLA, says that most freelancers in Pakistan work on different platforms that take their fees at different rates. Also, many money transfer services take a fee out of the worker’s earnings, which makes their total income much less.

Freelancers make $400 million in the most recent financial year, 2021-2022. Estimates show that workers will likely make the same amount by the end of the current calendar year.

The government should tell business banks to help professionals in the country for free. This way, they can keep track of their accounts in Pakistan’s banks instead of getting their pay through complicated routes from other countries.

PAFLA asked the government to give workers specialized desks in IT parks and Special Technological Zones to use cheap, fast internet services and networks and share knowledge with experts in their fields.

Also, the government should get more banks to open forex accounts so that they can get credit for big projects with partners abroad. Also, banks should give workers their own savings accounts made just for them. This would help them keep their credit and get the car and home loans.

Pakistan is thought to have the world’s fourth-largest number of independent workers. Nearly 3.5 million independent workers in Pakistan offer a wide range of services.