Tobacco growers in Pakistan are urging the government to revoke the tobacco leaf tax of 380 rupees per kilogram, or else they will hold a protest in Islamabad.
Ibrar Ullah, the Chairman of the Labor Union of Mehnatkash, stated during a press conference at the National Press Club in Islamabad that the price of tobacco in the open market is 256 Pakistani rupees per kilogram, while the prepaid tax is as high as 380 Pakistani rupees per kilogram.
He said that the pre-tax on tobacco leaves is damaging crop sales in the market, which will result in over 15,000 workers and 20,000 farming families becoming unemployed. Rizwan Ullah, the President of the Kisan Board, also refused to impose the pre-tax on crops, stating that the government is destroying farmers' mature crops through this strategy instead of providing them with relief.
He said that if the crop advance tax on crops is not repealed, all farmers in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province will hold a sit-in protest in Islamabad. Liaqat Yousafzai, the coordinating committee member for the Kashtkar Coordination Committee KP, called the advance tax on tobacco crops a "public enemy". He stated that while tobacco prices worldwide are increasing, Pakistan's tobacco prices are decreasing. Farmers in Swabi, Mardan, Charsadda, Boner, and Mansehra who cultivate tobacco crops are urging the government to promote the crop by repealing the advance tax.
Other speakers at the meeting stated that the government collects billions of rupees in taxes every year from tobacco crops, but is not yet prepared to provide relief to the public. They argued that the government should facilitate farmers in planting and harvesting crops, as this contributes billions of rupees in tax revenue each year.
Naimat Shah Roghani, chair of a farmers' rights protection organization, has stated that the pre-tax collection on tobacco crops is a result of the relationship between government officials and multinational tobacco companies. He argues that the tax is meant to eliminate the local tobacco industry and purchase crops from farmers at cheaper prices.
Tobacco farmers in KP province have issued a warning to the government and staged a protest in front of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) in Islamabad. They have threatened to block highways if the government does not reverse its decision to impose a pre-tax of 380 rupees per kilogram.
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