Social Media Earnings Tax: Senate Committee Backs 5% Direct Levy on Digital Content Creators

ISLAMABAD — The Senate Standing Committee on Finance, chaired by Senator Saleem Mandviwalla, has officially reviewed and endorsed a mandatory 5% tax on earnings generated through social media platforms under Finance Bill 2026. The new framework marks a massive push by the FBR to bring monetized content creation, influencer advertising, and digital entrepreneurs directly into the formal tax net. While lawmakers expressed concerns that aggressive digital withholdings could temporarily discourage foreign exchange inflows, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb briefed the panel that secure, centralized tracking is crucial to expanding national revenue reserves while maintaining revised standard tax slabs for salaried workers.