Karachi, November 5, 2024 – The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has recorded a remarkable 36.5% increase in withholding tax (WHT) collection for the fiscal year 2023-24, according to its annual report released on Tuesday. This growth, from Rs 2,007 billion in FY2022-23 to Rs 2,740 billion in FY2023-24, underscores the FBR’s enhanced efforts in tax enforcement and compliance. The FBR attributed this robust performance to improved compliance strategies and an increase in economic activities that have strengthened revenue collection across key withholding tax categories. Notably, the largest surge was seen in withholding tax from dividends, which grew by an astounding 69.9%. Following this, significant increases were recorded in collections from technical fees, bank interest and securities, salaries, and property sales, with growth rates of 53.6%, 52.8%, 39.3%, and 37%, respectively. The breakdown of withholding tax contributions revealed that contract payments (Section 153) held the highest share, contributing 18% of the total WHT revenue. This was closely matched by profit on debt and bank interest (Section 151) at 18%, followed by salaries (Section 149) at 13%, dividends (Section 150) at 5%, and electricity bills (Section 235) at 5%. Together, these five major items contributed to 59% of the total withholding tax collection, underscoring the dominance of these revenue streams. The FBR report emphasized that the notable increases across various tax sections illustrate the government’s dedication to strengthening tax collection mechanisms. Improved monitoring and enforcement policies played a central role in achieving these gains. Individual Tax Head Analysis Section 151: Bank Interest & Securities registered a striking 52.8% increase, reaching Rs 489,100 million—an increase of Rs 169,087 million over the previous year. This boost is attributed to rigorous monitoring of financial transactions and enhanced scrutiny in the banking sector. Contracts (Section 153) followed as a significant contributor, recording a 27.4% rise from Rs 389,386 million in FY2022-23 to Rs 496,050 million in FY2023-24. This uptick is likely a result of the expansion in…