The Sindh government's decision to defer collection of agriculture income tax from January 2025 at the rate of 45%, as agreed with the IMF, is a clear act of defiance – to say the least. This politically-exigent move comes in the footsteps of Punjab, which had also put off collecting the enhanced revenue from the farms for a year.

It is little known as to how the Washington-based lender will react to this deferment, and how the federal government will deal with the books to stay afloat. What is certain, however, is that the beleaguered political dispensation has once again caved to pressure from influential landlords in the provincial assemblies.

An aftermath of this decision, meant to appease the land-wielding classes, will see revenue generation dip by billions of rupees, and that too

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