—the government’s effort to impose a value-added tax (VAT) on merchants.
The reformist website, Kaleme, said at least 16 people were arrested in a demonstration staged Saturday to protest new tax regulations.
Kaleme reported that security forces arrested the protesters and charged them with “instigating protests among the merchants and shop owners and guiding them toward chanting slogans.”
It said the fabric merchants of the Tehran Bazaar have been on strike for about a month over the government’s new value-added tax.
On Saturday, the fabric merchants gathered in the bazaar and marched to the sections that sell gold, shoes and clothing, calling for the support of all merchants, Kaleme said. Those merchants that do support their cause reportedly turned off their lights and closed their stalls and shops in solidarity.
The government has said it will not enter any negotiations until the merchants reopen and it has threatened to revoke their retail licenses.
Last year, the merchants of the Tehran Bazaar closed down to protest the new tax system, and the protests spread to bazaars in Tabriz and Esfahan, until an agreement was reached with the government.