KANDAHAR CITY (SW): A number of fuel station owners in southern Kandahar province suspended the sale of petroleum products on Tuesday in defiance to the government’s efforts to collect taxes from them.
In a meeting with Deputy Governor Abdul Ali Shamsi, the fuel stations’ owners said they have been asked to pay very high taxes and they cannot afford to pay that. It was mentioned that earlier, they used to pay a minimal amount as income tax and later they weren’t asked any tax in the past seven years.
They also complained that the Kandahar Municipality and other government departments were asking them to pay license and cleanliness fees. Syed Ahmad Selaab, a member of the Provincial Council said on the occasion that the traders have been forced to escape paying taxes. He claimed the central government has urged the provincial authorities to achieve a certain target of revenue that has caused higher tariffs.
Speaking on behalf of the fuel traders, the PC member urged the deputy governor to formulate a committee to probe and resolve the matter.
Mohammad Azeem Ahmadzai, Provincial Revenue Collector however, claimed that more than one hundred fuel pumps’ operators were defying taxes for a while now. He told SW the government would ensure regulate the revenue collection in a bid to strive towards self-reliance in the future.
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