GILGIT, July 31: The representatives of Northern Areas traders and transporters associations at press conference here on Tuesday demanded of the government to withdraw all the taxes imposed on Northern Areas by the Central Board of Revenue (CBR).

They said they were opposing the CBR moves on the basis of the universal law; no taxation without representation.

Speaking at a joint press conference, Northern Areas Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NACCI) President Shehbaz Khan, Vice-President Hafizur Rahman and Northern Areas Contractors Association President Firdous Ahmed said the government should ask the CBR to immediately stop collection of taxes in Northern Areas because that practice was “illegal” and “unjustified”, as the region was not a constitutional part of Pakistan.

They said the federal government had extended the Customs Act, 1969, and the Income Tax Ordinance, 1979, to the region in 1981 through a notification and the laws had been implemented in 1989, though the people did not have any representation in either of the legislative bodies — National Assembly and Senate.

Similarly, they added, the Sales Tax Act, 1999, had been implemented in the region and the Kashmir Affairs and Northern Areas ministry had withdrawn it in the same year in view of the strong resentment by the people, but the government had been violating its own decision and had started collecting the taxes.

The transporters and traders’ representatives lamented that the CBR was adamant to collect taxes without implementing the Supreme Court’s May 28, 1999, verdict regarding the status of Northern Areas in which it had been clearly stated that parliament had no right to implement its decision on the region unless the region was made a constitutional part of the country.

They said poverty and unemployment were constantly on the rise in the region because of the economic crisis and non-existence of industrial base in the area. The public sector was not capable of consuming what they called the army of the unemployed youth.

The small informal economy in the private sector, which was struggling for its survival and was the only source of income for the local people, was being crippled by levying a host of taxes, they said, adding that the area possessed enormous hydroelectric and mineral potential that if harnessed could have reduced the region’s poverty but due to apathetic attitude of the government, the potentials remained unutilized.

They noted that due to the assorted taxes, private investors were shying away from investing in the tourism industry of Northern Areas, while the poor infrastructure had been affecting the industry for quite some time.