Tunisian lawyers demonstrate against planned tax change

By Rashid al-Jarai

TUNIS (AA) - Thousands of Tunisian lawyers on Tuesday converged on the capital’s Qasaba Square to protest new tax measures included in the government’s draft budget for 2017.

Protesting lawyers, who flocked to the area from different parts of the country, demonstrated outside Tunis’ Palace of Justice before moving on to the Government Palace.

While en route to the latter, demonstrators held banners aloft that read, "The lawyers are angry".

In an address delivered outside the Government Palace, prominent lawyer Amer al-Mahrazi condemned what he described as "attempts to demonize lawyers and portray them as thieves".

"Lawyers are used to being targeted by the government," he added. "But we will continue to use the language of dialogue and will not abandon our legitimate demands."

The government’s draft budget for 2017 includes a proposal to impose a 60-dinar tax (roughly $27) on all transactions overseen by attorneys.

Last week, Tunisian lawyers called a general strike to protest the planned measure, closing their offices for three days in a move that temporarily paralyzed the country’s court system.

One week before that, hundreds of lawyers had attempted to storm the Tunisian parliament building to voice their displeasure with the proposed tax change.