Rauff @motively.io

headhunting top remote tech talent from underexplored markets for startups & SMBs in 🇸🇦 at

[Faizan Siddiqi @faizansiddiqi]

https://t.co/XrS7B3FesK

[Faizan Siddiqi @faizansiddiqi]

Pakistan spent years celebrating freelancers, remote workers, and tech talent for bringing dollars into the economy.

Now the same people who adapted, competed globally, and built careers without relying on local opportunities are being treated like an easy revenue target.

The reality is simple: many young professionals didn’t “leave” the system the system stopped working for them long ago.

Remote work and global income became the fallback plan for an entire generation trying to survive inflation, instability, and limited local opportunities.

Punishing the country’s most productive and globally competitive workers is not economic strategy. It’s short term thinking with long term consequences.

Here’s a breakdown of what the proposed tax changes could mean for freelancers and innovation workers in Pakistan.

This 'Ambition Tax' has real consequence.

[Faizan Siddiqi @faizansiddiqi]

Pakistan's freelance economy grew 90% last year to $779M .

The lobby for local software houses, whose business model needs inexpensive domestic talent, has decided this is a problem.

If you celebrate EID (Earning in Dollars), read this before they fix it for you.

https://t.co/WyLV0kjUXI

[Faizan Siddiqi @faizansiddiqi]

Freelancers built the fastest growing export engine in Pakistan and contributed to Foreign Exchange.

And the response is… tax them more?

Data doesn’t lie:
• Traditional IT exports → +18% YoY
• Freelance / remote exports → +90% YoY

When you can’t outgrow them, regulate them. Because the incumbents are Lazy...

This proposed freelancer tax is basically an “Ambition Tax.”

Pakistan should reward globally competitive talent not punish it. (What do you think?)

Detailed article tomorrow. 🇵🇰

[Faizan Siddiqi @faizansiddiqi]

Just the lobby of the ageing bpo bros and their businesses who can't compete with globally competitive comp to retain staff.

I wrote about it here earlier https://t.co/iV2mIhpI5Z

[Rao @CasualRao]

My sister, a software engineer, is already earning nearly 6x more from foreign company than what software houses here are willing to pay. The IT industry keeps complaining about brain drain, yet fails to understand that skilled professionals won’t stay when they’re underpaid.

[Saad. @SaadInCyber]

Fuck PASHA btw. Utterly useless organization.

They are just salty that local tech talent can now directly get remote jobs worth $2000-3000 usd instead of being exploited for 150k PKR by local software houses run by MBA pass seths who can't write a hello world program.

[Rauff @motively.io @RauffHanif]

@sarahahmed_ @arhuml92 [phone]

[Rauff @motively.io @RauffHanif]

@sarahahmed_ @arhuml92 https://t.co/OeYMqFcWEk

[Rauff @motively.io @RauffHanif]

@omar_quraishi a simple Google search would tell you the answer, 378 is the price excluding the transportation and storage costs.

[Rauff @motively.io @RauffHanif]

@najam_ali why don’t you guys lobby for it?

[Rauff @motively.io @RauffHanif]

@gregorykennedy Tech talent for global teams.

https://t.co/l9vQApyXuk

[Rauff @motively.io @RauffHanif]

@jspujji Deck

[Rauff @motively.io @RauffHanif]

@randomrecruiter Let me get back to you please, is the default response...

[Rauff @motively.io @RauffHanif]

@randomrecruiter I thought this was fake until I viewed his profile... what in the world is even that 😳 😂😂

[Rauff @motively.io @RauffHanif]

@pxue I agree, one on ones are definitely much better!

[Rauff @motively.io @RauffHanif]

@Alexan6z loom

[Rauff @motively.io @RauffHanif]

@leojrr Carrd, very underrated

[Rauff @motively.io @RauffHanif]

@pxue Let's go 🔥

[Rauff @motively.io @RauffHanif]

@BrettFromDJ https://t.co/l9vQApyXuk