Islamabad : Traders in Pakistan have threatened to launch a nationwide protest if the government imposes fresh taxes to meet International Monetary Fund (IMF) conditions. Also demanded that the government instead cut the salaries of army generals, judges and MPs. Representatives of Pakistan’s Markazi Tanjim Tajiran (Central Association of Traders) said they would launch a protest movement across the country from February 13 if the new taxes were implemented, Dawn reported.
As reported by Dawn, the leaders of the organization warned the rulers that the economic condition of the country left no room for burdening more ‘duties’ on the general public and the business community. He expressed dismay that the economy of a nuclear country is in a critical condition and is worsening with each passing day. The public should not have to pay for the faults or crimes of the leaders of this country.
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‘Cut down the expenses of the President, Prime Minister’
Kashif Chowdhary, president of the organisation, said, “If more taxes worth billions of rupees are imposed, our reaction will be serious. If they want to improve the economy, then ask the stakeholders including the ruling elite to take appropriate decisions. Demanding a reduction in the expenditure on the President, Prime Minister, legislators, judges, army officers and bureaucrats, Chowdhury said the government should immediately cut in half all “non-productive expenditure”, reported Dawn. The representatives of traders demanded that the government formulate long-term and short-term economic policies and ensure income tax collection from all sectors instead of imposing billions of taxes.
Pakistani businessmen angry with Finance Minister
He said, ‘I assure the government that the business community is ready to contribute in getting the country out of the current economic crisis. We traders are ready to pay the prescribed taxes. The organisation’s president Khwaja Salman Siddiqui said he criticized Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, who was brought in by the PML-N to control the economy and arrest the rupee’s fall, but failed to deliver.
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