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Thursday March 28, 2024

ABAD laments double taxation

Karachi: Association of Builders And Developers (ABAD) expressed their grave concern over the Finance Bill 2015-2016 and imposition of 0.6 percent withholding tax on all banking transactions, including withdrawal of Rs50,000 cash in a day from bank accounts, said a statement issued Tuesday. ABAD Chairman Junaid Ashraf Taloo said levy

By our correspondents
July 08, 2015
Karachi: Association of Builders And Developers (ABAD) expressed their grave concern over the Finance Bill 2015-2016 and imposition of 0.6 percent withholding tax on all banking transactions, including withdrawal of Rs50,000 cash in a day from bank accounts, said a statement issued Tuesday.
ABAD Chairman Junaid Ashraf Taloo said levy of this tax is unjustified and will prove to be a disaster to all businesses including the housing sector. The government policy to increase the tax net has failed due to the sheer failure of the Federal Board of Revenue, which has made tall claims of increasing tax payers during the last many years.
It is pertinent to mention that each and every member of ABAD is a taxpayer but even then their names do not appear on the list of active tax payers. Whereas their names do appear in the FBR portal, thereby tax amount of 0.6 percent is being deducted on all transactions.
ABAD Vice Chairman Muhammad Hanif Memon said the imposition of withholding tax on banking services will create a parallel system of direct cash dealings, which will affect the banking sector as non-banking channels will flourish.
Muhammad Hassan Bakshi, Chairman Southern Region said that account holders have already started withdrawing cash from their accounts to keep it in their lockers and it seems that we are moving in the old times when gold coins were used to make transactions.
Furthermore, ABAD chairman also said that the business climate was improving with great difficulty and the leaders should not indulge in any adventure which derails the economy.
The memory of frozen foreign currency bank accounts was still fresh in the minds of the business community. He appealed to Federal Finance Minister Ishaque Dar to abolish the imposed tax, as it was creating confusion and unrest. The businesses were being subjected to double taxation. This abolishment would also help builders and developers, businessmen and industrialists to engage themselves in business without the fear of double taxation.