Chandigarh April 25:
Demanding withdrawal of the decision of the Centre to impose wealth tax of farmers owning land within five miles of urban, SAD today said the move is a blow to the farming community and reeling under debt.
The party has called a meeting of its central committee here tomorrow to discuss the issue and to develop a strategy to oppose the anti-peasant movement of the UPA government, SAD secretary and spokesman Daljit Singh Cheema said here. "The decision to impose one percent of the collector rate for agriculture land included within eight miles of the city limits crush Punjab farmers.
According to the decision, more than 70 percent of farmers in the state would be forced to pay this tax, "he said. Also expressed deep concern that as collector rates of land in the state in which it would be impossible for farmers to pay the tax, as it would be many times more than the annual income from their land.