Strikes continue in Bazaar of Tehran and other cities

Tehran Bazaar on strike

While gold merchants in the Bazaar of Tehran and other cities continue their strike, head of Gold and Jewellery Dealers Union warned merchants that if they persist in keeping their stores closed, they will have to face legal proceedings.

Iranian Labour News Agency (ILNA) reports that the Gold and Jewellery Dealers Union has called on gold merchants to end their strike and open their stores today in order to prevent “enemies from taking advantage of the situation.”

The gold market in Tehran Bazaar has been on strike since last Saturday in protest to value added tax laws.

Shiraz gold dealers have also gone on strike since last Wednesday and in other reports, a similar action has been taken by gold dealers in Mashhad, Tabriz, Esfahan and Qom.

The strikes have persisted despite threats of fines from tax revenue officials.

ISNA reports that gold dealers are now required to charge an extra 3 percent tax on their sales which has to be then transferred to the national tax treasury.

Officials claim that only gold dealers have expressed protests to the new law and all other retailers have taken the new regulations in stride.

However, some official reports indicate that the steel market also went on strike last Sunday and Monday in protest to the new value added tax law.

The Bazaar of Tehran and a number of other major cities also went on strike last July to protest tax policies. The strike started in the gold and textile sections of the Bazaar of Tehran and reached other cities like Tabriz and Esfahan.

The strike lasted a week and ended after reaching certain agreements regarding the process of delivering the tax to the government.