United community: Traders announce shutter-down strike on Monday

Call upon govt to immediately withdraw WHT on banking transactions.

The business community of Islamabad has agreed on a shutter-down strike on August 3 against the imposition of 0.3 per cent withholding tax (WHT) on banking transactions.

The decision was announced by the Joint Traders Action Committee (JTAC) Chairman Abdul Rauf Alam during a meeting of the business community at Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI), said a press release on Friday. The meeting was called with a one-point agenda of developing consensus on the date of the strike.

The traders vowed that they would not accept forced collection of WHT on banking transactions.

They called upon the government to immediately withdraw 0.3 per cent WHT on banking transactions of Rs50,000 and more per day [for non-filers of income tax]. They said that government should avoid coercive measures for tax collection and make efforts to expand tax net in consultation with all stakeholders including business leaders of the country.

Representatives of various trade bodies were present at the meeting.

Alam, ICCI President Muzzamil Hussain Sabri and other business leaders stressed that traders should maintain unity in their ranks. They said unity was the best approach to get the business community’s problems resolved and to send a strong message to the government.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 1^st, 2015.