Peshawar: Business community in KP has rejected collection of ‘fixed tax’ through electricity bills and demanded the federal government to withdraw the fixed tax scheme immediately.
Hasnain Khurshid Ahmad, president Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) while chairing a meeting of local traders’ here at the chamber’s house on Thursday said the government has collected sales tax from Rs3,000 up to Rs20,000 through electricity bills, which was not acceptable to them.
Without differentiating between small and large-scale businesses, and go downs, the forced system of ‘fixed’ sale tax on commercial power meters is reflection of the government’s anti-business policies, and tantamount to economic-murder of traders’ community, said Khurshid.
The meeting was attended by the chamber’s senior vice president Imran Khan Mohmand, vice president Javed Akhtar, Anjuman-e-Tajaran Peshawar president Haji Muhammad Afzal and other leaders from trading community, office bearers of various bazaars and market associations.
Participants of the meeting termed that the government’s decision is not only economic murder of the traders’ community but it also effects the inflation hit poor masses.
The traders have already paid ‘sales tax’ and again collection of ‘fixed tax’ from Rs3,000 to Rs20,000 through power bills is completely unjustifiable and unfair, the speakers said.
The SCCI’s chief said the frequent increase in power tariffs and collection of Fuel Price Adjustment (FPA) in power bills is strongly condemnable and unacceptable.
The traders’ leader asked the government to take back its decision to collect additional tax on power bills in the name of FPA and others.
Hasnain Khurshid asked the federal government to refrain from imposing anti-trader and anti-business policies. He added that traders are poor and cannot afford any new tax, subsequent to high inflation.
The chamber’s president vowed to strongly resist the government’s decision of a fixed ‘sales tax’ on power bills by launching an agitation campaign across the KP province.
