WHT on banking transactions: LCCI urges government to resolve issue as per businesspeople's wishes

The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has urged the government to resolve the issue of withholding tax on banking transactions according to the wishes of the business community which is back bone of the economy and largest source of the revenue for the government.
The LCCI President Sheikh Muhammad Arshad in a statement on Tuesday said that the government would have to find out an amicable solution to the withholding tax on bank transactions to ensure a business friendly atmosphere in the country. He 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.
He said that measures like imposition of withholding tax on bank transactions would not be 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. The LCCI President said that though formation of a committee and cut in withholding tax is a step in right direction but business community is yet not satisfied and want complete withdrawal of withholding tax. He said the Lahore Chamber is with all the trade and industry associations against this imposition of tax on bank transactions. He said that forceful imposition of withholding tax on banking transactions will not only hamper the trade and economic activities but will also tarnish the image of the government.
He said that a number of trade and 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. He said that imposition of this tax would force business community to conduct its monetary transactions in cash that would promote the undocumented economy.