Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad Chamber of Small Traders on Sunday demanded the government reduce the withholding tax imposed on bank transactions in the upcoming budget.

“The government has imposed additional taxes worth over a trillion rupees since it came to power. However, the tax on bank transactions has been opposed the most by traders,” said Islamabad Chamber of Small Traders Patron Shahid Rasheed Butt.

He said that business community had not accepted the tax. “People have invented different ways to avoid it, including trading in foreign currency, parchi, cash transactions and parallel currency,” he said.

He said that authorities should consider abolishing the tax or reduce it to acceptable limits. “Continuity of this tax is against national interests,” he said.

He said that it was the responsibility of the government to ensure that its revenue generation policies were a success.

“All the policies to increase revenue have backfired due to overdependence on bureaucracy, which is not aware of ground realities,” he said.

He said that Finance Minister Ishaq Dar’s stance on the issue was justified. “However, some reservations of wholesalers and retailers must be taken into account.

Moreover, banks face a severe liquidity crunch after imposition of the tax,” he said.

He said that authorities had always preferred indirect taxation.

“They avoid income taxes. This is not in the national interest,” he said. He said that the government should consider reversing the tax on bank transactions. “Otherwise, the situation will not improve.

The government should prefer imposing direct taxes and increasing exports and investment,” he said.