July 23, 2007	Monday	Rajab 07, 1428

GUJRANWALA, July 22: After the city district government’s failure to implement its advertising tax policy, District nazim Fiaz Ahmad Chattha has convened a meeting for Monday (today) to make a strategy for the recovery of the levy from advertising companies.

The dispute between the administration and advertising association on the issue of the recovery of tax has been lingering for the last few months, specially after the 400 per cent increase in tax rate.

The CDG had, five months back, increased the tax from Rs40 per square foot to Rs156 per square foot. But the recovery of the revised tax could not be started as advertising companies rejected the rate hike.

Due to the dispute, the city district could not awarded tax collection contract for the 2007-08 fiscal to a private company, as has been the practice in the past.

When contacted, district nazim Fiaz Ahmad Chattha said that he had already convened a meeting in which all matters, including the advertising tax policy, would be discussed.

Advertising companies association’s secretary Khalid Bashir said that they were ready to pay the tax but at a reasonable rate.

Meanwhile, the CDG deadline (of June 30) to the advertising companies to remove heavy and dangerous billboards to avoid loss of life and property also passed unheeded.