September 24, 2007	Monday	Ramazan 11, 1428

MURREE, Sept 23: Hoteliers have complained against the alleged intimidation at the hands of the tax officials who, according to them, were making millions by collecting inflated taxes and not depositing the payments in the national exchequer.

Office-bearers of the Hotel Owners Association told this correspondent that the tax department’s officials pressurised proprietors by calculating taxes at higher rates in order to receive bribe.

They said the rate of tax for commercial property under the use of actual owner was Rs2,000, but if it was rented out, the tax amount was Rs15,000.

They claimed that the tax officers misused these provisions and levied the higher rate of property tax, though most of the hoteliers were running businesses in buildings owned by them.

The office-bearers said if a taxpayer opted for challenging such “highhandedness”, he had to visit Rawalpindi to prove his case.

The local office of the tax department is located in Jhikagali, but it does not have the required facilities.

The situation can be judged from the fact that it even lacks landline phone connections, they added.

The hoteliers also complained against the uniform taxation structure that did not take into consideration the size of business.

Meanwhile, the hotel owners demanded that Murree should be exempted from taxes, as majority of the visitors to the hill station belonged to the middle and lower-middle classes and they indirectly had to pay extra charges for their stay. Presenting another argument for lifting of taxes, the hoteliers said an untoward situation taking place anywhere in the country affected the tourism business in Murree.

Tax Inspector Khawaja Tariq, when contacted, refuted any corruption on his part, and said the hotel owners did not provide the actual record in a bid to evade taxes. However, he did not remarked on the accusation of irregularities committed by other officials of his department.