Traders protest withholding tax

LAHORE
Traders’ organisations Wednesday held protest rallies and demonstrations across the country against imposition of 0.3 per cent withholding tax on banking transactions by the government.
In Lahore, the all groups of All Pakistan Anjuman-e-Tajran including Naeem Mir group, Khalid Pervaiz group and Ashraf Bhatti Group set up a protest camp at Faisal Chowk in front of Punjab Assembly Hall to lodge protest against WHT on banks transactions. Ashraf Bhatti, Ch Mehboob Sirki, Naeem Mir and others addressed the protesters while All Pakistan Anjuman-i-Tajran Lahore president Tariq Feroze, LCCI Azad Group chairman Raja Hassan Akhtar, Lahore Traders Alliance president Safdar Ali Butt, Khidmat Group chairman Babar Mehmood, Shah Alam Market Board president Kh Aamir, Walled City Markets board president Haji Tahir Naveed, Litton Road president Malik Nazim, Fruit Market president Ch Ejaz, general secretary Haji Ramazan, Wahdat road president Ch Fayyaz, Hall Road president Shabir Labha, Akbari Mandi president Anwar Bobi joined the protesters in the camp.
In Urdu Bazaar, a group of traders held protest wearing black armbands while another protest camp was set up in Shah Alam Market to raise the voice against huge taxation measures of the govt.
Addressing the protest camp of traders near Punjab Assembly, traders said the business community of the country has agreed on another countrywide shutter-down strike on September 9 against the imposition of withholding tax.
The traders are united on one-point agenda of developing consensus on the date of the strike on September 9. They said the three factions of APAT leadership including (Naeem Mir), Ashraf Bhatti and Khalid Pervaiz would not accept forced collection of WHT on banking transactions.
They said according to the new strategy, traders on September 4 (Friday) would observe boycott of banks, besides observing a Day of Curse against the government after Friday prayers. They would pull their shutter down across the country on September 9. They said if their demand was not accepted they would observe strike on October 7.
They called upon the government to immediately withdraw 0.3 per cent WHT on banking transactions of Rs 50,000 and more per day. He said the government should avoid coercive measures for tax collection and make efforts to expand tax net in consultation with all stakeholders including business leaders of the country. They said traders have now maintained unity in their ranks, which was the best approach to get the business community’s problems resolved and to send a strong message to the government.