Abstract
This Issue Paper examines Pakistan’s revenue raising deficiencies and weak fiscal architecture as a security problem, one that requires proactive remedial measures and an effort towards public value co-creation. It examines the current state of the taxation system, comparing this with the ideal traits of a healthy fiscal net. It then considers the culpability of social agents in perpetuating dismal tax outcomes, and then provides recommendations on what to remedy in the tax system. The findings of the paper suggest that the responsibility for Pakistan’s taxation conundrum has multiple causes of culpability, which can be addressed in numerous ways; and that a robust fiscal net should be the utmost priority of the national government, with long-lasting implications for both national security and society.