Protesting against the imposition of 3.5 percent withholding tax (WHT) on agents, the Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association (PCGA) has stopped purchasing seed-cotton (phutti) from Saturday.
Officiating a general body meeting, PCGA Chairman Masood A Majeed stated that in spite of the Government's statement that it has not levied any tax on the farmers, the fact is otherwise.
According to Mr. Majeed, the levy of withholding tax on middlemen and agents is indirectly a tax on the farmers, as the middlemen or agents are not going to bear this tax themselves but would pass on the same to farmers.
He said that the cotton ginners in Pakistan have launched a protest against such tax imposition, as it is not possible for ginners to pass on the tax burden to agents nor is it possible for them to deposit the amount in banks on a daily basis.
He further said that the country has harvested plentiful crop after two decades and the gains so reaped should reach all stakeholders, especially farmers.
He said that the PCGA disapproves the often changing tax strategies and urged the Government to evolve a tax policy which would be effective for a minimum of five years.
The PCGA Chairman stated that it is the business right of the ginners to decline to accept or buy phutti, which may prove troublesome for them. By their act, the ginners are conveying their complaint against the Government's unfair decision, he added.
Fibre2fashion News Desk - India