Aamir Attaa

Pakistan’s mobile tax situation has a major problem, but it can easily be fixed. The recent exchange inside the Finance Committee discussing high taxes on iPhones and other high-end models did not reveal a new problem; it simply brought long-standing faults within the mobile tax framework into clear view. The Problems Pakistan has built a taxation model around imported high-end phones that is rigid, unforgiving, and unaligned with real-world usage.

I have walked the corridors of GITEX for several years now. Every time I arrive at the Dubai World Trade Centre, I expect innovation, but I leave thinking, “They’ve raised the bar again.” This year, that perception was cemented within minutes of stepping into the main hall.

In an article I penned for ProPakistani in 2010, I discussed a stark disparity in online revenue between Pakistani and U.S. websites. Despite having comparable audience sizes and traffic volumes, Pakistani sites earned a fraction—specifically, 32 times less—of what their American counterparts brought in. Over the past decade and a half, this revenue gap has persisted, posing significant challenges for Pakistani digital media companies.