Summary Earlier, the union had written a letter to the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif
KARACHI (Dunya News) – Traders on Wednesday are observing countrywide strike against imposition of 0.3 percent withholding tax after they boycotted banks transactions on September 4 to record protest.
The government had imposed a 0.6 percent withholding tax on all kinds of transactions above Rs 50,000 however, after demonstrations against the act, tax was reduced to 0.3 percent until September 30.
Sources said that the tax will be increased to 0.6 percent for those who do not comply with the new regulation. Traders are striking against the announcement in Karachi and other cities.
Reportedly, markets and other business points in Faisalabad, Multan, Lahore, Peshawar, Quetta and Karachi are shut today.
Almost all markets in Sukkur including Sarafa Bazaar, Shahi Bazaar, March Bazaar, Nishtar Road, cloth market, Shikarpur Road, Racecourse Road, Dhak Road and others are closed down. On the other hand, traders in Dera Ismail Khan have rejected union s appeal to observe shutterdown strike as markets are open in different parts of the city.
The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has summoned past two-month records of traders who made transactions above Rs 50,000. The record will be helpful in identifing tax filers and evaders.
The record will also identify culprits, if any, who resorted to money laundering or other crimes.
Earlier, the union had written a letter to the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif to intervene the matter and bridge gap between the government and traders.
