South Punjab traders’ body to support strike call

MULTAN: The south Punjab People’s Traders Cell Thursday announced backing strike call for July 13 and conveyed it to all the braches of PTC in the region for playing their role in demonstration against fiscal policies of the government. The PTC also extended support to wheel jam on July 14 by the transport owners against taxes.

Speaking at consultation meeting of traders, south Punjab PTC chief organizer ex-MPA Dr Javed Siddiqui said the PTC was motivating traders not to pay unjustified taxes levied in anti-people budget 2019-20.

He said all chapters of PTC would lead traders shutter down on July 13. He said the PTC has held its consultation meeting with allied trader bodies and finally decided supporting July 13 shutter down.

Dr Javed Siddiqui said the budget was against traders and farmers. He demanded removal of the VAT, a reduction in taxes to 0.3%, no sales tax on up to Rs10 million sales and no income tax on people making up to Rs1.2 million a year.

He demanded the government to charge a fixed income tax from shopkeepers and stop its condition of customers’ CNICs required for transactions over Rs50,000. He said that traders could not accept the government’s decision to collect additional tax from non filer buyers, besides showing CNIC numbers of purchasers.