Amidst deteriorating economic situation, Palestinian Authority (PA) and Fatah President Mahmoud Abbas imposed new tax on communication firms working in Gaza Strip, sources revealed on Tuesday.
The sources said that Abbas had imposed the value added tax (VAT) by 16 per cent on the princes of communications paid by the Gaza residents.
VAT had been previously reduced to 1 per cent due to the deteriorating economy in Gaza, which has been living under strict Israeli siege, PA and Egyptian siege.
Most Western and Arab states support the siege on Gaza in order to put pressure on the moderate Islamic Palestinian Movement Hamas, which legally fights the Israeli occupation, to disarm.
Gaza residents started to complain due to the new tax imposed on them. Social media users said: “Instead of supporting us, Abbas is sucking our blood.”
Abbas has been denying accusations that he is part of the siege on Gaza and the measures he took against Gazans, including electricity cuts, halt of treatment permits, reduction of medicines in the Gaza hospitals and stopping to pay fees and salaries to public servants in Gaza.
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