LAHORE - All Pakistan Anjuman-e-Tajiran (APAT), the major body of traders which observed a significant and very effective shutter down of wholesale markets a few days back in Lahore, has announced a countrywide shutter down next month if the federal government did not withdraw withholding tax on banking transactions permanently.
Addressing a press conference here at Lahore press club on Tuesday, President All Pakistan Anjuman-e-Tajiran Khalid Pervaiz rejected 0.3 percent withholding tax on banking transactions. “We will have a countrywide shut down on August 5,” he told 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 banking accounts.
“We altogether reject this kind of withholding tax,” he added. The withholding tax was announced in the budget 2015-16 on banking transactions for the non-filers of income tax. After hectic negotiations with some traders, Dar had said that the reduction in tax rate will be applicable till 30th September this year.
However, another group of All Pakistan Anjuman-e-Tajiran has rejected strike call, announcing to play its role for documentation of the economy, as the finance ministry and FBR in recent meeting with trade bodies have accepted all demands of traders, besides reducing withholding tax on banking transactions to 0.3 percent.
He said that the business community was satisfied with the outcome of the talks, appealing to all traders and industrialists to now file the income tax returns and become honourable citizens of the country. He said if the FBR and Finance Ministry continued its positive approach towards the business community, no businessman would be a non-filer in the country.