Preneet to support traders’ bandh in Patiala today

PATIALA: Supporting the bandh called by Patiala Beopar Bachao Sangarsh Committee and Punjab Property Dealers, Plot Holders and Colonizers’ Association on Wednesday against the tax regime in Punjab, senior Congress leader Preneet Kaur said on Tuesday that the Akali-BJP government had virtually resorted to ‘tax terrorism’ on trade and industry.
Preneet is the Congress candidate for the Patiala (Urban) assembly segment bypoll slated for August 21.“Traders are facing a double whammy. On one hand, trade is not doing well and on the other, punitive taxes have been imposed on them,” she said, while announcing her support for the bandh. Seeking the withdrawal of the “punitive” and “draconian taxes”, Preneet pointed out that it was unheard of that the excise department should impose 200% penalty on traders or the police go for random raids on chemist shops. “They (ruling alliance) are turning it into a police state,” she alleged. She demanded immediate withdrawal of the property tax, regularization fee and interest on plot holders, reduction in collector rates by 40% on agriculture, commercial and residential land, permission to colonizers to deposit their compounding fee without any penalty, bringing down of the retail price of sand and gravel to affordable levels, withdrawal of revenue duty on power of attorney and withdrawal of the anti-protest law enacted recently by the Punjab government.