ISLAMABAD: Nearly half Pakistan’s lawmakers do not pay taxes, according to a study released on Monday, findings that may endanger the billions of dollars in IMF and other loans and aid shoring up a faltering economy.

Cracking down on rampant tax evasion is a main condition of a $6.7 billion International Monetary Fund program aimed at stabilizing the nuclear-armed US ally of 180 million people.

Big donors like Britain, which has committed more than $1 billion to Pakistani education, are considering slashing aid unless more rich Pakistanis pay tax.

The report, which identifies some ministers among the legislators who pay no tax, was drawn up by the Center for Investigative Reporting in Pakistan, an independent research group.

The group based its report on documents from the Election Commission. The Election Commission publishes financial declarations from political candidates and their statements from the tax authority.

Tariq Azeem, a spokesman for Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s ruling party, said the tax authorities and the Election Commission used different forms to gather tax data. He said that may explain the discrepancies.

Asked why some legislators appeared never to have paid taxes, Azeem said: “I don’t know.”

Spokesmen for other political parties said they had not read the report and could not comment. None of the politicians identified in the report as having paid no taxes was available for comment.

Pakistan’s public schools and hospitals are starved of revenue while frustration over poor public services frequently sparks riots and militant groups capitalize on anger to build support.