President All Pakistan Anjuman-e-Tajiran Khalid Pervez announced on Friday that traders will announce a shutter down strike for the unlimited period if government will not announce to reverse the decision of imposition of 0.6 percent with holding tax on bank transactions till October 10. He was addressing the press conference along with the trader representatives from all the four provinces of Pakistan. Khalid said that they will organise a traders' convention after October 10 in which they announce the date of strike after consultation with the trader representatives.
Khalid said that chief minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif had contacted him and assured him that he will talk to finance minister Ishaq Dar regarding the issue of WHT. Khalid stressed his hope that Shahbaz Sharif will play its role in solving the issue because he himself is a businessman and he understands the issues of business community. He said it was Shahbaz Sharif who solved the issue of business community in 1998.
While answering a question regarding differences between the traders' representatives Khalid said that it was actually Naeem Mir group who was creating differences among the traders. He alleged that it was Naeem Mir who signed an agreement with the government regarding imposition of WHT without consultation with the representatives of the traders. Khalid said the traders were not against the widening of the tax net but the government should collect tax after consultation with the concerned people.
He said if the withholding tax was imposed despite their reservations it would hamper trade and economic activities and also tarnish the government's image. Other trade leaders said that if their demands were not accepted then the shutter down strike call for the unlimited period the would not let the PML-N government complete its tenure. "The PML-N had formed the government with the support of traders and now it is taking anti-traders decisions."
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