Jewellers down shutters in protest against tax

KOCHI: On a day when the price of gold touched a new record of Rs 17,120 a sovereign in the Kochi market, most of the jewellery shops remained closed.
A number of shops across the state remained closed on Thursday in response to the hartal called by the All Kerala Gold and Silver Merchants Association in protest against the taxation proposals in the state Budget. All Kerala Gold and Silver Merchants Association president B Girirajan said several taxation proposals in the Budget would adversely affect the gold trade sector. The association demanded withdrawal of all those proposals. "The proposal to fix the tax of the traders on the basis of the total turnover would push up the tax burden of the traders," he said. Expressing strong protest against the budget proposals, gold and silver merchants in the state have earlier decided to observe hartal on Thursday. They said according to the new budget proposals, the jewellers who have done compounding should not collect tax from the customer. In this scenario a jeweller will have to give the government Rs 750 for every 8 gms, as per current gold prices. Announcing the hartal B Girirajan had urged the government to consider the plight of jewellers and reconsider the budget proposals.