The federal government is preparing a fixed agricultural income tax of up to Rs5,000 per acre as a backup plan should provinces fail to meet revenue targets agreed under the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme.
According to sources, the government has set September 30 as the deadline for provinces to achieve the agreed benchmarks for agricultural income tax collection and return filing.
If the targets are missed, consultations with provincial governments on the fixed tax scheme are expected to begin in October.
Under the proposed arrangement, farmers and landowners would be brought under a fixed per-acre tax structure similar to schemes already applied to other sectors of the economy.
Officials are simultaneously working to reassure the IMF on the pace of agricultural tax implementation.
The lender has repeatedly flagged delays in collecting revenue from the sector, noting that agriculture contributes around 24.5 percent to Pakistans economy but accounts for just 0.3 percent of total tax revenue.
