Electricity bills: Business community rejects collection of ‘fixed-tax’

PESHAWAR: Business community has rejected collection of ‘fixed tax’ through electricity bills and demanded of the federal government to withdraw it forthwith.

Hasnain Khurshid Ahmad, president Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry while chairing a meeting of local traders’ here at the chamber’s house said the government has collected sales tax from Rs3,000 up to Rs20,000 through electricity bills, which couldn’t be acceptable to them.

Without differentiating between small and large-scale businesses, and godowns, the forced system of ‘fixed’ sale tax on commercial power meters was reflection of the government’s anti-business policies and tantamount to economic-murder of traders’ community, Khurshid said.

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 trader’ leaders, office bearers of various bazaars and markets associations.

Participants of the meeting termed the government’s decision as economic murder of the traders’ community. 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 taxes on power bills in the name of FPA and others.

The traders warned to besiege the building of Wapda house if in case, the disconnection of power supply of their shops and business premises.

Hasnain Khurshid asked the federal government to refrain from imposing anti-traders and business policies. He added said traders and poor people couldn’t afford any new tax, subsequent increase in inflation.

The chamber’s president vowed to strongly resist the government’s decision of a fixed ‘sales tax’ on power bills by launching a vigorous agitation campaign across the KP province.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022