'Maha traders strike caused Rs 75,000 crore business loss'

The apex traders' body CAIT on Friday claimed that the two-week long strike by Maharashtra traders against imposition of Local Body Tax (LBT) has led to an estimated business loss of over Rs  75,000 crore and asked the state government to have an open discussion on the issue.

"The estimated business loss has been more than Rs  75,000 crore causing a revenue loss of about Rs  9,000 crore to the state government due to the strike," the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) said.

Wholesale and retail traders from Mumbai, Thane and Nagpur have been on an indefinite strike against LBT.

"The indefinite strike called by Maharashtra traders against LBT will further worsen the situation in the state. Therefore, we challenge the state government to join in an open debate on any public platform on the so called advantages of the new tax. Let the people of the state and the country know the real truth behind imposition of LBT," CAIT said.

LBT is an account-based cess collection and will be charged for every raw-material used or imported into the city limits by all businesses, traders and manufacturers.

The Maharashtra government will implement LBT to replace the traditional octroi in its cities. In Mumbai, which is the only city that charges octroi at 4 per cent, LBT will come into effect from October, while other cities in the state have already gone the LBT way.  The Confederation said LBT suffers from various "legal infirmities, ambiguities, confusions, disparities and anomalie".