KARACHI: The city traders have decided to observe a complete shutter-down strike on August 5 against the imposition of 0.6 percent withholding tax on bank transactions.
A large number of traders, including Tajir Ittehad, Small Traders Association, Karachi Wholesale Grocers Association, Alliance of Arambagh Market Association, Dandia Bazar, Tariq Road Traders Welfare Association held a meeting day with President Karachi Tejir Ittehad Atiq Mir in the chair.
Talking to Customs Today, Atiq Mir said that the traders of the city would observe a shutter-down strike on August 5, 2015. “The series of protest demonstrations and strikes would start till the lifting of the new levy on bank transactions,” he added.
The traders always wait for the holy month of Ramazan for the business, however, the present government has imposed 0.6 withholding tax on bank transactions which is injustice, he said.
“The government is following the dictation of the foreign donor agencies causing serious difficulties for the local traders affecting business activities”, he added.
Atiq Mir said that the government should abstain from imposing the withholding tax and work towards providing relief to the industry and ultimately to the common man. “It seems there is no economic policy in the country, nor there is any economist who could bring in the justified tax system”, he opined.
He demanded the federal government to immediately withdraw the tax otherwise the traders would announce indefinite shutter down strike against the new levy.
