Cooch Behar: Traders set to appeal to Chief Minister for tax relief

Cooch Behar: The Cooch Behar District Traders Association is set to approach Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to demand the reduction of various municipality taxes imposed on traders.

The organisation is continuing its agitation against the municipality following a successful business shutdown across Cooch Behar town on Friday. Sending a clear message, the business association warns that if a satisfactory resolution is not reached soon, they will be compelled to escalate their protests in the days ahead.

Motilal Jain, president of the Cooch Behar District Business Association, stated: “The municipality has unilaterally imposed successive taxes on businessmen, which is unacceptable. The protest strikes yielded results, but we seek a permanent solution to address the traders’ grievances. If not resolved, we will approach Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee after consulting with about 30,000 traders in Cooch Behar town. The Chief Minister had previously assured that there would be no tax hikes.”

During a recent visit to Cooch Behar town ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the Chief Minister instructed Municipal Chairman Rabindranath Ghosh not to increase taxes. However, the business association alleges that taxes were raised despite this directive.

In response, Rabindranath Ghosh, chairman of Cooch Behar Municipality, clarified: “The Chief Minister instructed us to halt the tax notice issued by the Valuation Control Board, which remains in effect. The current tax rates were decided two years ago after consultations with traders. The ongoing protests by a group of businessmen are deemed politically motivated.”