MULTAN: The executive committee of Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association (PCGA) has rejected the 0.3 percent withholding tax on bank transactions, describing its detrimental to the business community and announced to join the protest movement of traders across the country.
It was decided at a meeting presided over by acting chairman Ramesh Lal. The meeting was also attended by the chairman of Ginners group Haji Muhammad Akram, vice chairman Rao Sadaruddin, ex-chairmen Amanullah Qureshi, Sheikh Muhammad Saeed, ex-vice chairmen Shehzad Ali Khan, Suhail Mehmood Haral, Khawaja Muhammad Farooq, Ghulam Mustafa Khandwa, Khawaja Atiqur-Rehman, Khalid Hanif Lodhi, Malik Aqueel-ur-Rehman Bhutta, Mian Tariq Javed, Munawar Iqbal, Zaid Ali Khan, Sheikh Muhammad Ayub, Younas Kaselia, Khawaja Muhammad Azam, Khawaja Riaz Siddiqui and Khawaja Ashfaq Hussain.
The meeting unanimously rejected the sugar mills policy of present government regarding the shifting of sugar mills in core cotton areas or granting permission to establish sugar mills in cotton zone. It demanded for immediate withdrawal of relaxation in cotton zone policy and cancel the licenses of sugar mills established in core cotton zone.
The meeting bitterly criticized the taxation policy of present government and said that government had put extra burden of tax on those who are already paying taxes. The meeting also rejected the reduced rate of withholding tax on the banking transactions. It said that ginners have to pay billions of rupees to the growers in cotton season .How can ginning community afford this deduction on payment and it would also affect the growers indirectly. They announced to join the protesting traders if the federal government did not withdraw withholding tax on banking transactions.
They said that Finance Minister Ishaq Dar did not call up true representatives of business community during the negotiations held last week to cut tax rate to 0.3 percent from earlier 0.6 percent announced in the federal budget. It said that ginners have rejected any kind of tax on withdrawing cash from their banking accounts. “We altogether reject this kind of withholding tax,” he concluded as saying.
