LAHORE - The Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry has termed the withholding tax on banking transactions as “economic intimidation” for the business community and called for its immediate withdrawal.
LCCI President Malik Tahir Javaid, Senior Vice President Khawaja Khawar Rashid and Vice President Zeshan Khalil said that withholding tax on banking transactions is doing more harm than good and continuously affecting the business atmosphere in the country.
“Issue of withholding tax is top of the list in the other miseries like disparity in taxation system, dual taxation, high input cost and delay in refunds that must be resolved according to the demand of the business community,” the LCCI office-bearers said while talking to a delegation of All Pakistan anjuman-e-Tajran, led by Khalid Pervez.
They said that business community has rejected withholding tax on banking transactions from the first day but concerned authorities are not ready to realize the ground realities.
They said that though expansion of tax net is need of the hour but government would have to find out new ways to bring the untaxed sectors into the tax net. They said that measures like imposition of withholding tax on bank transactions are not doing any service to the economy as it has been observed that tax collection machinery has no authentic data to specify difference between filers and non-filers.
They said that tax on all bank transactions has been imposed forcefully, that is not only hampering the trade and economic activities but is also tarnishing the soft image of the government.
They said that a number of trade & industrial associations have approached the LCCI and informed that imposition of tax on all banking transactions has caused unrest and put the interests of business community on stake. They said that imposition of this tax has forced business community to conduct its monetary transactions in cash that is promoting undocumented economy.
The LCCI office-bearers hoped that withholding tax on banking transactions will be withdrawn immediately in the larger interest of the industry, trade and economy.