Traders Give Miftah a Week to Rollback Additional Taxes

Markazi Anjuman-e-Tajiran Pakistan has told Miftah Ismail that if the government does not roll back the taxes within a week, the traders all across Pakistan would take to the streets and call for a shutter-down strike on 17 August 2022.

In a meeting with the Minister of Finance and Revenue, Miftah Ismail, President Markazi Anjuman-e-Tajiran Pakistan, Kashif Chaudhry put forward the demands of the Association and said that the traders would call for a strike across the nation if the government failed to fulfill the demands within a week.

Kashif Chaudhry proposed a tax exemption for traders consuming 150 to 200 units of electricity and to enter the name of the consumer instead of the owner of the electricity meter. He further demanded a withdrawal of Rs. 40,000 fixed tax on jewelers and automobile businesses as well as the tax announced in the budget on the sale and purchase of a property.

Talking to ProPakistani, He said that the Minister of Finance had assured him to reduce the fixed tax to Rs. 3,000 for both filer and non-filer traders, which under the budget had been proposed as Rs. 3,000 for filers and Rs. 6,000 for non-filers. He further said that Miftah Ismail has also assured to hold a meeting with the electricity companies for this purpose, however, if the government failed to meet the demands, the traders will call for a strike throughout Pakistan as per their previous policy.

Before today’s meeting, the Association President held a press conference in which he complained about several issues that the traders were facing with the imposition of the new taxes. He criticized the government for not being able to provide relief in petrol prices with the declining international price of oil.

Further, Kashif Chaudhry disapproved of the imposition of taxes on the real estate sector, saying that more than 45 industries of the country were related to the sector and the tax would impact the whole market. He demanded that the tax imposed on plots should be abolished.

He stated, “The traders are already paying advance tax, extra tax, fuel price adjustment and other taxes. In such circumstances, electricity prices should have been reduced. As the price of electricity increases, so does the rate of taxes. Pakistan’s small businessman is not able to pay the bills.”

In a bid to calm angry traders, the Federal Minister of Finance and Revenue, Miftah Ismail, announced the exemption of small traders, with electricity consumption of fewer than 150 units per month from the fixed rate on Sunday.

The Minister had explained that a full and final tax of Rs. 3000 per month had been imposed on traders in the budget of the current year after consultations with trade bodies. The government had also ensured the traders that they will be left unbothered after the tax had been paid. Explaining the policy changes, the Minister said that traders earning Rs. 1.2 million annually, should pay Rs. 36,000 tax annually as it included both income tax and general sales tax (GST).

However, Finance Minister’s decision did not calm the demonstrating traders as the President of the Association called for the press conference today in Islamabad.

During the previous week, protests broke out in Karachi as traders demanded the removal of the tax, which had been imposed through electricity bills. The protesters led by representatives of traders threatened to close the city’s entry and exit points if the additional tax was not removed from the electricity bill.



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