March, 29 2005	Tuesday	18 Safar 1426

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SAHIWAL, March 28: ‘Double taxation’ in local small industries has forced the industrialists to close their units and shift the business to Lahore, Sialkot and Gujranwala. This was said by Small Industries Estate Welfare Association President Chaudhry Muhammad Yunas along with other office-bearers in a press conference here on Monday.

He said the Punjab government in order to solve the issue of ‘double taxation’ had constituted a committee, comprising local government and finance secretaries and Punjab Small Industries Corporation (PSIC) managing-director on March 13, 1979.

He said the committee had decided that the small industrial estates within the municipal limits would not pay maintenance tax to PSIC, instead the municipal authorities would charge property tax and maintain industrial estates.

Mr Yunas said the municipal committees imposed property tax and the PSIC continued forcible collection of maintenance tax from the units in the Sahiwal small industries estate. An amount of Rs2.5 million was collected by PSIC and still demanding Rs6 million maintenance tax.

The office-bearers have appealed to the government to look into the matter failing which scores of labourers would become jobless.

CAB TAKEN AWAY: Four robbers, including a woman, took away a cab near Chak 109/12-L on Sunday night.

Reports said three armed men and a woman hired a taxi (LOW-506) from Kamalia stand. Near Chak 109/12-L, they made off with the car after throwing driver Sajid Ali out of the vehicle.