Sabrina Tavernise’s new piece for the New York Times is a must read for anyone interested in Pakistan.
Here’s the real take away, come what may:
“Out of more than 170 million Pakistanis, fewer than 2 percent pay income tax, making Pakistan’s revenue from taxes among the lowest in the world, a notch below Sierra Leone’s as a ratio of tax to gross domestic product.
“Mr. Zaidi blames the United States and its perpetual bailouts of Pakistan for the minuscule tax revenues from rich and poor alike. “The Americans should say: ‘Enough. Sort it out yourselves. Get your house in order first,’ ” he argued. ‘But you are cowards. You are afraid to take that chance.'”
Who is Mr. Zaidi pointing to? Us. The American people, represented by our government in Pakistan. Whether or not that notion of representation makes sense–it doesn’t–the point is demonstrably valid. Why are ‘we’ reaching out to Pakistani political and economic elites and re-establishing allegiances with the military when much of the revenue stream that could help right the sinking ship that is Pakistan, is tied up in a perverse Gordian knot by the machinations of those same elites?
There’s no pleasant answer to that question. But there is a proper one. We are afraid that the Pakistani elite will not work with us to move their politics to our strategic advantage. Letting broad tax evasion be the norm might be an appealing move were it apparent that we could do anything at all to move their politics to our advantage. Instead, it looks like we’re rushing head-long to a status quo political settlement that has only further beggared the poor in Pakistan. And, perhaps, has fomented the complaints that shadow the growing insurgency in the tribal regions that border Afghanistan.
