Hundreds of businessmen on Tuesday staged a demonstration against the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR)'s anti-business policies including bank account attachments, misuse of discretionary powers under section 38-B and raids at the business premises.
The protest was held at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) premises, led by its acting president Amjad Ali Jawa and vice president Nasir Hameed Khan while the LCCI former presidents Mian Anjum Nisar, Mian Shafqat Ali, former senior vice president Malik Tahir Javed, office bearers of different markets and trader bodies including Zeeshan Khalil, Khalid Perez, Ashraf Bhatti, Khamis Saeed and Zahid Maqsood Butt were also present on the occasion.
The demonstrators chanted slogans against the anti-business tactics of the tax machinery and demanded of the FBR to stop the misuse of Section 38-B of the Sales Tax that is undermining the business community. The participants warned that they would close down their business and take to streets if due respect is not extended to the business community.
They said the prime minister and federal finance minister should take notice of the situation as bureaucracy wants to create misunderstanding between the business community and the government. The participants said that FBR should stop harassing the filers as non-filers and ones outside the tax net are not accounted for at all which discourages businesses to voluntarily come into the tax net. Registered businesses are required to comply with rules and regulations of various departments involving a lot of financial resources and time whereas unregistered businesses are free from all such hassles.
They said that there are 3.5 million registered taxpayers out of which only around one million files their tax returns. The government should take all the measures to ensure filing of returns by the remaining 2.5 million individuals and businesses. The attaching bank account for recovery of outstanding dues is an obstacle in business growth and tarnishes the business-friendly image of the government, they added.
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