Daily Times

Farmers and industry labour unions of KP have requested Prime Minister Imran Khan to take notice of proposed additional tax of Rs 500 per kg on tobacco leaf during upcoming budget 2020-21, as the new levy will seriously affect the livelihood of hundreds of thousands of families directly dependent upon tobacco sector in the province. Senior representatives of Kissan Board Pakistan, Sarhad Agricultural and Rural Development Organization, Pakistan Tobacco Growers Association, Anjuman Tahaffuz Huqooq Kashtkaraan, Kashtkaar Coordination Council, Mehnat Kash Labor Federation and Dealers Association along with hundreds of workers gathered at Munsif Dar, Swabi, to register their protest against possible imposition of tax. They also requested National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser and elected members of both national and provincial assemblies to take notice of any such move to save tobacco sector in KP. The representatives blamed that multinational tobacco companies operating in Pakistan have a strong lobby within the decision making authorities, which push the government to impose such tax directly on tobacco leaf. After imposition of such a tax, local buyers may not purchase tobacco from farmers, and resultantly multinational companies will enjoy monopoly on tobacco leaf and can easily exploit the tobacco farmers. The representatives maintained that tobacco is the only cash crop of KP through which government earns billions of rupees in terms of taxes every year. Imposition of any such tax will badly affect this sector as hundreds of thousands of workers associated with the sector will go jobless. The representatives said that last year, after intervention of NA Speaker Asad Qaiser, the PTI government had rejected such the proposal to impose additional tax of Rs 300, which proved to be a huge relief for the tobacco growers. This year too, the farmer unions approached the NA speaker, after which he helped form a committee to look into the matter. The representatives said they are hopeful that the government authorities will not take any such step which may affect livelihood of thousands of poor farmers and labourers.