The head of the union of fabric traders in Tehran Bazaar has been arrested, according to Iranian news websites. A group of Bazaar traders have gone on strike since Tuesday to protest a new tax law. The strike has started in the gold and fabric traders section of the Bazaar and still continues in some sections of it.
Kaleme reports that Mr. Motamedi, the fabric traders’ representative, was arrested while he was calling on people and Bazaar traders through a loudspeaker to gather in Sabze-Meydan Square. The protests have continued although Mohammad Ali Zeyghami, the deputy trade minister announced on Tuesday that the 70 percent tax increase was cancelled. He told Mehr News Agency that this was “a mere mistake” caused by miscommunication and wrong interpretation of the law. He maintained that the announced tax increase is actually less than 30 percent.

A meeting set up on Wednesday between National Council of Trade Unions and the Tax Office to announce terms of agreement could not end the disputes. ISNA reports that Ali Asgari, head of national tax affairs, left the meeting once the traders’ representatives became more emphatic on their protests.
The law which was passed by the parliament and approved by the Guardian Council two years ago was supposed to have been put into effect last September. However, every government effort to put it into action has been halted by the traders’ strike at the Bazaar.

The widely read US foreign policy blog Enduring America comments as follows on the strike: ‘The story beyond — which I’m not sure has been picked up — is that this clash may be only a foreshadowing of political difficulties. The Government has declared, after many stop-start moments, that the implementation of the subsidy reduction plan will begin this autumn. But, if as that it is likely to lead to price rises for essentials such as food and energy, are we only at the beginning of a wave of economic discontent?’

sources: Radio Zamaneh, Enduring America