Tech Desk 
Apr 03, 2026
The federal government has proposed some amendments to slap non-resident Pakistani YouTubers who were earning hefty amounts by selling their content in Pakistan, seeking to recover Rs195 per 1,000 views on videos.
The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) stated that the proposed income tax rate translates into 16% to 66% of every cent earned from Pakistan, depending upon the region and the price for every cent or dollar earned against each 1,000 views of a video.
These special procedures have been notified by exercising special powers available to Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb to change these rules.
The FBR has proposed that it will charge Rs195 "per 1,000 views on the video shared on YouTube. For the purpose of this special procedure, it shall be taken as Rs195 and is subject to revision from time to time." At present, the revenue per mile (per thousand) usually ranges from $1 to $3 but can go as high as $9, if the audience is in the US and Canada.
To which YouTubers will FBR tax apply?
FBR said that the proposed special procedure will only apply to computation of income of non-resident persons earning income from remunerative social media content viewed in Pakistan.
"Every non-resident person deriving income from interaction with users in Pakistan through social media platforms to the extent such income constitutes Pakistan-source income," state these proposed rules.
This would affect only those non-resident Pakistanis who are sitting abroad, mainly in the US, Canada or the United Kingdom, producing content on Pakistan's politics and economy, which is viewed in Pakistan.
The FBR said these rules would be applicable on systemic and continuous soliciting of business activities or engaging in interaction through digital means only to those YouTubers who have over 50,000 users a year or 12,250 in a quarter.
