CAIRO: At a meeting at its headquarters Friday, the Pharmacists' Syndicate denounced a recent decision by the Tax Authority to cancel a 2005 agreement between the authority and the syndicate. Last week, Chairman of the Tax Authority, Ashraf Al-Araby, issued a decision allowing taxes imposed on pharmacies to be subject to an increase, thus nullifying an older decision setting fixed taxes on pharmacies. Farid Ismail, member of the People's Assembly (PA) health committee, told Daily News Egypt that this change is "very risky. "According to the current system, all pharmacists pay their taxes according to a set percentage of their total income - seven percent. However the minister [of Finance] has decided to cancel this now, only one month before the taxes submission deadline, Ismail explained. Ismail indicated that the new regulations will be implemented on this year's taxes, due on March 30. According to Ismail, canceling the 2005 agreement makes the taxes "random, which he says is unfair to pharmacists who have financial burdens. In a press statement, the syndicate indicated that it called for the meeting to organize a protest in front of the Ministry of Finance along with a general strike in which all pharmacies will simultaneously close should the Tax Authority not retract its decision. The new change in the tax regulations also subjects pharmacists to "large financial fines and jail sentences should they fail to abide by the new regulations, the press statement read. In its statement, the syndicate warns that such regulations can drive pharmacists to "resort to illegal methods to avoid paying taxes. The syndicate vowed to "stand side by side with all pharmacists should they face any danger.
