ISLAMABAD: To protest against the government’s tax reforms, traders like other parts of the country, observed a complete shutter down strike in Rawalpindi and Islamabad, on Wednesday, with the support from traders’ associations and political parties.

The political parties throwing weight behind the traders included Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), and Awami National Party (ANP).

Protest rallies were taken out in capital Islamabad and Rawalpindi with the traders demanding reversal of the government’s decision and threatening to push the country to a standstill if their demands are not met.

The issue has put the government in a tight spot as it is looking towards imposing more taxes on the working class and the business community to ensure compliance with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and get the recently-acquired $7 billion bailout package released under its Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme.

However, the traders’ associations and opposition parties are in no mood to relent and have slammed the government for putting further pressure on the business community which is already unhappy with its several recent decisions.

“We will not back out as we are already paying various kinds of taxes as well as other expenditures including high rents, escalated power and gas bills,” Ajmal Baloch, president All Pakistan Anjuman-e-Tajran said.

Kashif Chaudhry, chief of Markazi Anjuman-e-Tajran, mentioned that if the government wants to negotiate and is serious about holding dialogue with businessmen, it should first withdraw the notification of Tajir Dost Scheme.

He said that traders have no objection to the registration with the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) but the government should reduce additional non-developmental expenditures and create a business-friendly environment.

“The government should catch the big fish into the tax net to steer the country out of the financial crisis and get rid of the IMF. The government needs to stop burdening the masses with taxes. Traders will never pay arbitrary taxes,” Hafiz Naeemur Rehman of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Pakistan said in a statement.

The business community and the traders have threatened the government with an indefinite strike if the notification is not withdrawn immediately.

Meanwhile, the local administration has shut down the bus services and placed containers to stop the protesters from entering the “Red Zone” area of Islamabad.

Asserting that the IMF-imposed budget has “snatched the bread out of people’s mouth”, JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman in a statement termed the government’s decision as a “forced directive” by the IMF.

“The country is practically being run on orders of the international financial institutions, including the IMF,” he said.

On the other hand, the government maintains that imposition of taxes on the business community is aimed at increasing the tax net as per directives and demands of the IMF.

The government said that it wants to ensure that pre-conditions of the IMF are met and the release of the bailout package takes place.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024