Business Desk 
Jun 11, 2025
In a bid to widen its tax collection net and generate greater revenues for the national exchequer, the government of Pakistan, with the release of the annual budget for FY26 on June 10, has brought to the radar individuals earning through social media platforms or any streaming platforms.
Besides the tax enforcement, the government has now made it mandatory for social media platforms to submit quarterly reports detailing users' activities.
It should be noted that this tax imposition on social media influencers, content creators and vloggers is reminiscent of the taxes incurred upon freelancers.
On the sidelines of major tax reforms in 2025-26 budget, the federal government has introduced a 3.5% tax on income earned from popular social media platforms such as YouTube and TikTok, indicating a special focus on digital content creatorsas part of its new measures to increase tax revenue by up to Rs600 billion to meet IMF targets in the wake of fiscal challenges.
It was also learned that this tax on social media content creators alone is expected to generate over Rs52.5 billion in revenue, marking a new era of taxation for Pakistan’s booming digital economy.
