IMPACT OF INFLATION ON TAXES IN PAKISTAN: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY OF 2000-2010 PERIOD
Purpose- Aim of this study is to examine the relationship between tax revenue and inflation in Pakistan. It is further measuring the rate of change in a stochastic variable of the taxes, i.e. direct, indirect, and total taxes, with a unit change in inflation in Pakistan with an assumption of other factors remaining constant. Methodology/sample- For this research secondary data for the period of 2000 - 2010 was used. The relationship among the variables is examined at annual effect of same period. The analysis is followed by some statistical tools like correlation, regression and significance test for error factor to test the hypothesis and infer some conclusion. Findings- Findings of the study suggest that inflation and taxes are positively correlated and any change in inflation cause taxes to increase in Pakistan. The inflation in the country explains the behavior of taxes positively, but less than 1. Practical implications-This study can guide the fiscal policy planners to look at this critical position of taxes which are inflation-oriented, rather production or investment oriented. This study also proposes the further study of the relationships of taxes with change in investments and production within the country and also for all fiscal variables in compliance to the change in inflation. Research limitations-The results are based on secondary data, so the reliability is subject to the accuracy of the source. It also encounters the impact of inflation on taxes, which is not only the factor, so the results are based on assumption that other factors are held constant.