Raza Bashir

Welcome to the “art” of political appointments …

Visited Trail 5 a few days ago and it’s shocking how much Islamabad’s air quality has worsened despite the rain last week. The view from Margalla hills used to be so clear but their obsession of turning Islamabad into a concrete city will ruin its natural beauty and clean air

US failed to reach a deal with Iran The stock market waiting to open on Monday

Investing in a Pension Fund is one of the most underrated tax moves available to salaried Pakistanis. Section 63 of the Income Tax Ordinance 2001 gives you a direct tax credit — not a deduction, a credit — meaning rupee-for-rupee reduction in your tax bill. Here's everything you need to know. THE 3 PILLARS THAT CONTROL YOUR CREDIT ① Taxable Income — salary PLUS every taxable perk, allowance or benefit your employer gives you (cash or non-cash) ② Tax Payable — your actual tax liability on that income ③ Average Tax Rate — Tax Payable ÷ Taxable Income This average rate is applied to your pension fund investment to calculate your credit. Change any one of these three and your credit changes too. THE FORMULA Step 1 → Average Tax Rate = Tax Payable ÷ Taxable Income Step 2 → Eligible Investment = lower of 20% of Taxable Income OR Actual Investment Step 3 → Tax Credit = Eligible Investment × Average Tax Rate EXAMPLE — Monthly Salary Rs. 400,000 Annual Taxable Income → Rs. 4,800,000 Tax Payable → Rs. 861,000 Average Tax Rate → 17.94% Max Eligible Investment → Rs. 960,000 Tax Credit = Rs. 172,200 Add a conservative 9% fund return on your investment= Rs. 86,400 Total Year 1 gain = Rs. 258,600 on Rs. 960,000 invested — an effective 26.94% return. GOT A BONUS? YOUR CREDIT GOES UP Add a Rs. 500,000 December bonus: Revised Taxable Income → Rs. 5,300,000 Revised Tax Payable → Rs. 1,036,000 Revised Average Tax Rate → 19.55% Revised Eligible Investment → Rs. 1,060,000 Revised Tax Credit → Rs. 207,200 Every taxable benefit your employer gives you — cash bonus, car allowance, housing perk — increases your eligible ceiling and your credit. Your taxable income is not a fixed number. Track it throughout the year. BUSTING THE BIGGEST MYTH "Your money gets locked in the pension fund." Wrong. What is restricted is tax-free withdrawal — not access to your money itself. You can withdraw any time. Tax is deducted at your average rate from your last 3 filed returns — tax you would have paid on your salary had you never invested. So where is the loss? There is none. THE TIMING TRAP NOBODY TALKS ABOUT Your employer gives you the credit by reducing monthly tax deductions. But if he has already deposited most of your annual tax to FBR, he may not have enough left to give you the full credit. Annual tax payable → Rs. 861,000 Deposited in 10 months → Rs. 717,500 Remaining with employer → Rs. 143,500 Your entitled credit → Rs. 172,200 Shortfall → Rs. 28,700 That Rs. 28,700 becomes a refund claim with FBR. Anyone who has dealt with FBR refunds knows what that means — years, notices, follow-ups, maybe never. Invest early. July to December is the sweet spot. Do not wait until March-June. HOW MUCH TO INVEST? The eligible amount is a ceiling, not a floor. You do not have to invest Rs. 960,000 in one shot(in above example). → Rs. 50,000/month via standing instruction or whatever amount as per your convenience → Lump sum whenever you have liquidity → Transfer your company provident fund if it earns zero return — same money, tax credit + investment returns both Invest slightly above your base calculation to absorb any bonus or perk that arrives mid-year without missing the additional credit. YOUR CHECKLIST ① Calculate annual taxable income — salary + all perks ② Compute tax payable and your average tax rate ③ Eligible investment = lower of 20% of taxable income or actual amount ④ Invest early — July/August ideally ⑤ Submit proof to your employer immediately ⑥ Track every bonus and top up accordingly

#Pakistan in the past 24 hours. Who made this meme video? Genius!

Dubai right now

The voiceless salaried class has paid out Rs365 billion Income Tax in the first eight months (July-February) of the current fiscal year, a figure that is higher than the collective contribution of all wealthy segments, including retailers, wholesalers, exporters, and property tycoons. Read full details @ thenews.pk/print/1405165-…

6 years ago today, we were told to take our laptops home for no reason. Friday March 13th, at 11:30am, we received an email telling us why.

BREAKING: Anthropic CEO says Claude may or may not have gained consciousness, as the model has begun showing symptoms of anxiety.

A group of astrologers from Deeg district in Rajasthan travelled to Dubai on Feb 28 to attend an astrology conference. They were scheduled to return to India on Mar 1, but their flights were cancelled due to sudden airspace restrictions. They are stranded in Dubai 🤣🤣🤣

You want me to be physically present at a meeting in the office? Like the Ayatollah?

Pakistani twitter really doing its best to prove the "scratch a liberal and a fascist bleeds" saying true.

China knows exactly what this does. Their domestic version of TikTok caps kids under 14 at 40 minutes a day, locks access between 6am and 10pm, and swaps the entire feed to educational content. Science, history, museums. The version they export to everyone else? Unlimited, unrestricted, pure dopamine on demand. When kids in the US and China were asked what they wanted to be when they grew up, the number one answer in America was influencer. In China it was astronaut. Macron calls this a cognitive war. Export what dulls young minds and keep what makes them intelligent for your own population. This is the most effective weapon ever deployed against a generation’s ability to think.

HR managers, investment bankers, and designers reading the anthropic announcement right now:

IT company CEOs to Claude:

>Not a single mention in the Epstein files >No blackmail He just bombed the middle east for the love of the game

🚨 BREAKING NEWS 🚨 The Royal Family are said to be devastated after Prince Andrew's car crash next Wednesday.

This is probably the best summary of the world today you can read.

This model is faulty and based on overoptimistic assumptions. People should be wary of making investment decisions using this model. Reality will be far more expensive.