Farooq Chatha is a Commonwealth PhD Scholar in Tax and Development at IDS. His research is focusing on OECD’s approach to international taxation and developing countries.

He earned an MA in Development Studies from IDS and holds an MBA in Tax Management from the Institute of Business Administration Karachi as well as a BSc in Civil Engineering from the University of Engineering and Technology Lahore. In 2004, Farooq joined Pakistan’s Civile Service and held various positions of tax administration and policy in the Inland Revenue Service. Currently, he is an Additional Commissioner (Inland Revenue) at the Large Taxpayers Office Lahore.

Farooq’s PhD thesis, titled ‘The Enigma of Tax Policy Transfer in Pakistan’, is supervised by Martin Hearson and Miguel Loureiro.

Recent Publication

Chatha, F. A. (2023) ‘Curbing Fiscal Defecit through Enhancing the Agriculture Income Tax Collection in Punjab, Pakistan‘, Journal of Pakistan Administration 44(2): 69-87.

Pakistan’s federal government struggles with fiscal deficits and increasing revenue, particularly from agricultural income, which is taxable by provincial governments. The provinces rely on federal funds instead of boosting their own tax collection. Farooq’s research explores the sociocultural and political challenges that lead to administrative inefficiencies in the implementation of the Agricultural Income Tax Act of 2001 in Punjab – the province that contributes the largest share of the national agricultural income. The paper calls for legal and administrative reforms to improve revenue collection and suggests a district-level study to better estimate agricultural income using proxies. Additionally, it recommends the introduction of minimum adjustable tax to enhance efficiency.