LAHORE (PPI) - The business community of Lahore has warned of series of protests if the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) does not stop immediately harassing the businessmen by issuing notices. The warning was issued by the Chairman PIAF Engineer Sohail Lashari while speaking at a reception hosted in his honor here at a local hotel. Former LCCI Presidents Mian Anjum Nisar and Mian Shafqat Ali also addressed the large business community gathering comprising industrialists and traders. The Chairman PIAF said that the business community disapproves the FBR move and will not tolerate any arm-twisting step by the tax department but it would be resisted tooth and nail. The PIAF Chairman said that almost all the leading economies were giving incentives to expedite economic activities in their respective countries but in Pakistan the people who are sitting at the helm of affairs were doing the otherwise at this point in time when almost all the businesses were facing a number of internal and external challenges. Engineer Sohail Lashari said that the business community was quite conscious of its national obligations and the decision to issue unnecessary notices to them would only vitiate business atmosphere. Chairman PIAF Sohail Lashari also emphasized that before any harsh step is taken such as conducting raids and instituting FIR the sales tax officials should sit down with tax payers if any discrepancy appears and solve the issue amicably on the table. He said that raids and FIRs are counter productive like drone attacks. They appear solving time being problem but are negative in the long run. He stressed the need that the taxpayers and tax collectors should be on the same page as both are striving to serve the nation. While addressing the gathering Mian Anjum Nisar and former LCCI President Mian Anjum Nisar said that it would be wiser on the part of the Federal Board of Revenue to strengthen its institutional capacity for bringing more people into the tax net instead of squeezing the existing tax payers. He said that in order to cultivate the culture of voluntary tax payments, the taxpayers should be facilitated and guided, and instead of imposing harsh penalties, minor mistakes should be rectified. Notices without deciding specific criterion in consultation with the trade and industry, is not acceptable and discretionary and arbitrary powers of the tax officials in this regard should be curtailed forthwith, he added. The anomalies in the Sales Tax and Income Tax laws should be removed. He said that the business community knew well that the government needs revenues to run its affairs and it was willing to pay taxes but the process and laws for collection should be made simple and less burdensome. Meanwhile, PIAF Chairman urged the government to ensure uninterrupted electricity supply to the industry as unannounced prolonged load shedding was bringing economic activity to a grinding halt and to bring the industrial sector out of mire, the government would have to take measures on war footing to end the power outages.