1 lakh powerloom weavers go on one-day strike

Namakkal/Erode: Over 1 lakh powerloom unit owners and 50,000 cloth merchants took part in a day-long strike across the Salem, Namakkal, and Erode districts on Wednesday, demanding the central government to withdraw the 43B(H) income tax imposed for the MSME sector at the earliest.
Erode Cloth Merchants Association president S Chidambara Saravanan told reporters in Erode that the central government imposed a 30% income tax for the weaving materials purchased for 45 days above credit.
“ Most of the buyers were purchasing the materials for more than 50 days credit. This new income tax will destroy the industry,” he said, adding that many buyers were refusing to purchase clothes citing this new tax system.
Pointing out that the central government will impose the new tax system from the new assessment year 2024-25, the merchants and the power-loom unit owners demanded that the implantation be delayed till 2025. tnn