LAHORE: Protests against withholding tax imposed by the federal government continue and now traders are getting ready to plan another countrywide strike from next month.
The other day, a body representing traders announced a countrywide shutter-down strike from next month if the federal government did not withdraw the withholding tax on banking transactions.
Addressing a press conference here, Anjuman-e-Tajiran President Khalid Pervaiz rejected the 0.3 percent withholding tax on banking transactions. “We will have a countrywide shutdown on August 5,” he told the media.
Pervaiz said that Finance Minister Ishaq Dar did not call up true representatives of traders and retailers during the negotiations held last week to cut tax rate to 0.3 percent from earlier 0.6 percent announced in the federal budget. He said that traders have rejected any kind of tax on withdrawing cash from their bank accounts.
“We altogether reject this kind of withholding tax,” he added. It is pertinent to mention here that withholding tax was announced in Budget 2015-16 on banking transactions for non-filers of income tax.
After hectic negotiations with some traders and trade body representatives, Dar said that the reduction in tax rate would be applicable until September 30 this year.
