‘Unlawful’: G-B lawyers oppose corporate taxation

The Gilgit-Baltistan High Court Bar Association (HCBA) has declared the recent imposition of taxes in G-B unlawful.

GILGIT: The Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) High Court Bar Association (HCBA) has declared the recent imposition of taxes in G-B unlawful, asking the government to grant constitutional rights to the region if it is interested in levying taxes. “Unless the constitutional status of G-B is cleared, imposition of taxes here will be illegal,” said G-B HCBA President Advocate Ahsan Ali while chairing a meeting of the Bar Association on Monday. He said keeping in view the disputed status of the province neither income tax nor customs duty was valid. “But if an attempt is made to this effect, we will resist vigorously,” he warned. The association also took strong exception to a crackdown launched by the excise and taxation department in Gilgit against non-customs paid cars, demanding that the authorities release all impounded vehicles with immediate effect. Earlier this month, the G-B government was set to impose corporate tax on all businesses, incomes of which was over Rs0.3 million, besides levying a tax on employees earning more than Rs50,000 per month.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 1^st, 2011.