The struggle is real: How tax hikes on stationery are weighing down parents

Restless sleep, butterflies in the stomach, and bouncing with excitement to meet friends after some months are part and parcel of a back-to-school regimen for most school-going children. Where the list of back to school essentials has evolved over the years, as electronic devices become a must have for students as young as those studying in grade 6, the anticipation of buying new stationery printed with your favorite character, to new books and copies has remained unchanged over the years. As both parents and children gear up to enter the daily, comparatively restrictive routine of setting alarms to wake up on time, going to bed, and planning all your activities around school, the freedom of the summer vacations is not missed a lot in the start.

As the bookstores buzz with activity, witnessing heavy footfall of parents and students ticking their book lists for all the necessary items to start a new academic year, the newly imposed 15% taxes on the past prices of books, copies of pens, pencils, geometry boxes, school bags, and all other stationery items has resulted in a 20-30% increase in prices. This considerably dampened the spirits of parents who have to bear the brunt of this price hike and also the students who could not freely pick and choose items of their choice. Especially, for the public belonging to the lower and middle-income bracket, this comes as an unpleasant surprise as they struggle to meet the costs of daily living in these times of skyrocketing inflation. Where the consumers feel limited in their capacity to buy stationery essentials, the stationery suppliers are also feeling the impact of these taxes and have reported a tangible decrease in the number of buyers. The businessmen fear that the prices will experience further increases in the month of August because the producers have halted the supplies and are providing the stationery products at prices of their choice, which is further slashing the profit margins for the sellers.

The parents have urged the government to revise the taxes on books and stationery essentials citing the general inflation as already breaking their backs, while they also feel helpless when they are unable to fulfill the little demands of their school going children for their favorite school supplies.

The traders association has announced a country-wide strike on the 28th of August, they say that they cannot bear the heavy weight of withholding and sales taxes along with the steadily rising electricity bills. In a press conference in Lahore, the traders said they would not receive the bills and would go on strike. Most of the traders associations across Punjab including Lahore have announced support for the strike, this includes the truck drivers associations as well. The traders announced that if the Government does not change its policies by 28th August, they will go on a shutter-down strike for an unlimited period of time.

The rising cost of living including but not limited to electricity bills, newly imposed taxes, etc, is making it very hard for the common man to not only have a reasonable standard of living but also to barely make ends meet. In a country that is still struggling with a low literacy rate and a large number of out-of-school children, these taxes on stationery essentials are not going to help Pakistan improve its literacy rate.

Imagine a child going to school but not being able to bring the required books and supplies, the judgmental looks and sniggering of his peers can truly deter his will to continue going to school. Where the parents’ hands are tied by the unbreakable cord of upsurge cost of living, it’s only the government that can provide some relief to the students, parents, and the stationery merchants, which is a dire need of the hour.