Noting that there has been a significant increase of 119 percent in the number of educated citizens leaving Pakistan, a campaign has been launched by the Salaried Class Alliance to urge the government to take measures to reduce brain drain among the salaried class, which is burdened by heavy taxation.
The campaign raises several pertinent questions. It urges the government to tax the landlords and others, while also adopting austerity measures to reduce its expenditures. The campaign is being spearheaded by professionals through social media and peaceful gatherings. The premise is that the government should also tax those enjoying the benefits of living outside the tax net.
Using the hashtag #taxkumkaro, many professionals have taken to social media to highlight their grievances, especially as they become the primary taxpayers for the cash-strapped country. They have also started drawing comparisons with other nations where taxpayers are given incentives. This is particularly true for welfare states where the salaried class is heavily taxed but given facilities such as free healthcare and education in return.
This inequality of benefits is the primary driver of the ongoing brain drain. Citizens who feel that their services are not valued here and their contributions to the national exchequer are not rewarded jump at the first opportunity to leave the country. Today, unemployment and brain drain are at record levels in Pakistan.
Many young Pakistanis believe that the country does not offer them adequate opportunities for them to channel their skills. They also believe that the system restricts them from growing to their maximum potential. They highlight the red tapes, elite capture, and other persistent issues as the reasons.
Given that Pakistan has a young population in the majority, it is highly worrisome for many that a great chunk of this populace wants to leave the country at the first instance. For many developing nations, their young population carries a promise of development. However, for this promise to materialize, the environment has to be made conducive as well.
Today, Pakistan’s job market is highly tiled in the favor of employers, courtesy of the high unemployment rates and the saturation in every field. The universities and employers share the blame for this. The universities are constantly churning out graduates with little to no practical experience. Their theoretical knowledge is barely relevant in the job market. Similarly, employers shy away from adding value to their products, which could help them scale their businesses further. Together, these issues compound the problem.
So, to get out of these lingering issues, many people take the student visa route to escape the country. However, the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. Many Pakistani students struggle to find jobs abroad and are forced to settle for basic jobs to make ends meet.
Therefore, the campaign of the salaried class highlights a complex problem, that requires urgent attention. An analysis of social media posts and the voices emerging under the banner of this campaign reveals that what the people ask for is equitable taxation to ensure that all stakeholders of the country contribute to the development of the country, and that the salaried class be given relief, if not other incentives, to stop them from leaving the country.