Traders threaten country-wide shutdown against advance income tax

ISLAMABAD: The traders’ community threatened to observe a country-wide shutdown if the government does not withdraw the recently issued Statutory Regulatory Order (SRO) under the Tajir-Dost Scheme, ARY News reported.

President All Pakistan Anjuman-e-Tajiran Ajmal Baloch in a statement rejected the SRO issued by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).

He said that if the SRO is not withdrawn, the traders will be forced to announce a nationwide shutdown.

Ajmal Baloch demanded from the FBR to immediately withdraw the SRO or else they would announce the strike.

Ajmal Baloch said that the SRO should be issued in accordance with the agreed-upon terms between the government and the traders.

The All Pakistan Anjuman-e-Tajiran president said that out that during the negotiations, the FBR was informed that the scheme has failed, and both filers and non-filers are already paying advance income tax through electricity bills.

Ajmal Baloch categorically said that traders will not pay any further advance income tax under any circumstances.

It is pertinent to mention here that the FBR extended the Tajir Dost scheme to 42 cities

Previously limited to six major cities, the scheme now covers Abbottabad, Attock, Bahawalnagar, Bahawalpur, Chakwal, Dera Ismail Khan, Faisalabad, Ghotki, Gujarat, Gwadar, Hafizabad, Haripur, Hyderabad, Islamabad, Jhang, Jhelum, Karachi, Kasur, Khushab, Lahore, Larkana, Lasbela, Lodhran, Mandi Bahauddin, Mansehra, Mardan, Mirpurkhas, Multan, Nankana, Narowal, Peshawar, Quetta, Rahim Yar Khan, Rawalpindi, Sahiwal, Sargodha, Sheikhupura, Sialkot, Sukkur, and Toba Tek Singh.