Posted on 10/13/2008 3:07:14 PM PDT by nuconvert
Tehran's bazaar stays shut in VAT protest
TEHRAN (AFP) — The Iranian capital's traditional bazaar stayed on strike on Sunday to back calls for the scrapping of VAT, even after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad froze implementation of the tax for two months
Stalls were shuttered in the capital's main bazaar, an AFP correspondent said, with policemen in uniform and plainclothes patrolling the area. The main gate remained closed and shoppers left empty-handed.
It is the first general strike at the bazaar since the revolution. The shutdown started in jewellery shops on Wednesday then spread to textile and carpet stalls, reaching its height on Sunday.
"Because of this tax (VAT), there is an increase of 10 to 15 percent in prices, so we want the government to annul the law," a shopkeeper standing by his closed business said.
The government last month introduced value added tax at a rate of three percent but traders say the effective rate will be higher because the levy will be imposed at every stage of the supply chain, from producer to consumer.
"By closing our shops we are losing money for a few days but if we do not succeed we will lose money for ever," another bazaari said.
"I hope the bazaaris win and not the government, since I would be purchasing things more expensively because of the new tax," said a dissatisfied consumer.
VAT came into force on September 22, but after press reports of strikes last week in the provincial cities of Isfahan, Mashhad and Tabriz, Ahmadinejad on October 9 ordered a two-month freeze.
(Excerpt) Read more at afp.google.com ...
pong
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