KARACHI: All Pakistan Organization of Small Traders and Cottage Industries categorically rejected Value Added Tax (VAT) on Tuesday.
President APOSTCI Karachi chapter Mehmood Hamid and other office bearers including Usman Shareef, Muhammad Akhtar, Babar, Saleem and Aleem said in a joint statement Tuesday that imposition of 15 percent VAT on food and daily use items will make the lives of poor people a living hell, who have already been in a miserable condition due to constant inflation and price hike.
They harshly criticized the government and said that slapping 15 percent VAT on hapless Pakistanis who already face poverty, inflation, unemployment and load shedding by a so-called democratic government is a shameful act. Present rulers are torturing their own citizens to get more loans from IMF, they regretted.
Trade leaders condemned slapping of VAT on education and said that it will drag the nation into darkness, as children will remain illiterate.
They also condemned the menace of loadshedding and asked government why it was not accepting Iran’s offer of cheaper electricity and why it was bent on buying very costly power from the so-called Rental Power Plants.
They also demanded the government to curtail princely expenses of its army of ministers and advisors.
They claimed the government paid Rs3 million per month to each minister under various heads and this money is extorted from poor citizens in shape of cruel taxes.
They demanded of the government to withdraw VAT.
COMMENTS (1)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ