Sunday, February 22, 2009

Egyptian pharmacists strike against tax law

From the International Herald Tribune:
Pharmacists in privately owned drugstores in Egypt went on strike Monday to protest efforts by authorities to enforce a new tax law, their union said.

The law, adopted in 2005, requires pharmacists to use a new bookkeeping method that includes all merchandise sold in drugstores — not just medicines — in their tax returns. Pharmacies in Egypt sell common toiletries and hair care products as well as pharmaceuticals.

Pharmacists argue that medicines are not a profit-making enterprise and that they should have a lower taxation, different from other goods.

Mohammad Abdel Gawad of the Pharmacists Union said the strike was called after efforts to get a tax exemption failed. He said many of the 45,000 privately owned pharmacies were expected to take part in the open-ended protest. Egyptian pharmacists strike against tax law -

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