LAHORE: Trader on Thursday rejected the government’s proposal of fixed tax regime for small businessmen and merchants, terming it full of discrepancies and against their demands.

“The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) issued this fixed tax draft without consulting us. We have severe reservations and rejecting it out rightly,” All Pakistan Anjuman Tajiran’s (APAT) central secretary general Naeem Mir said at a hurriedly called press conference.

Tearing the fixed tax document, Mir – flanked by the APAT and its member traders’ bodies – said the traders would never accept such lollipops. “It is really a sick joke with 3.1 million retailers across the country. Imposition of fixed tax according to area of the businesses’ premises is absolutely unjustified. This does not cover jewellers, real estate agents, charted accountants, credit-card machines’ holders [in the same vicinity] and only covers small vendors [selling naan, channa, aloo channa, biryani, etc] who are already paying taxes on their electricity bills,” he said.

“We will continue our protests by observing shutdowns for four days in this month and finally we will close our businesses soon after Ashura holidays,” Mir added.

Published in Dawn, August 3rd, 2019