SRI LANKA
The Parliament chamber
He requested relief for the said parties. He further pointed out that the proposals do not address the anomalies in pensions. The Hon. Prof. Tissa Vitarana MP was of the view that Government should have sustainable economic development and there needs to be investment in infrastructure development as well as in industrial development.
However there is no guarantee from the way the Budget has been prepared that the proposed mechanisms would be sustained and he said that they were very short-sighted budgetary measures. The type of taxation, which is based on earnings acquired in the past, is a poor system of taxation and that very act has already been producing negative effects.
Expressing his views on the tax policy, the Hon. D.E.W. Gunasekara MP stated that it could not expect a change to the prevailing tax policy in a proposal made in about 20 days, but the
only good thing that he could observe was the relief given to the PAYE taxpayers.
He stated that the imposition of the Mansion Tax has not even considered the principles of Economics and that the contingent liabilities are included only in the consolidated fund but not in a Budget. He informed that the report of the Taxation Commission should be referred and it has given good direction towards a better tax policy. The Minister of Power and
Energy, Hon. Patali Champika Ranawaka MP stated that this government was elected mainly to establish political reform in the country and at the same time it may focus on providing some economic benefits to the people. He said that it could not expect long term economic plans from this government.
The Minister stated that the most important factor in these proposals was the removal of unreasonable taxes on consumer goods. He stated that though there
had been an issue with the tax imposed on hybrid vehicles, electric and hydrogen powered vehicles have been given total tax relief. The Minister denied fact that the proposals were focused on settling long term expenses through one-off or short term revenues. He stated that it had to confine to the budgetary proposals of the previous Government. The Minister also stated that the previous Government was on a construction revolution which had not adhered to proper benchmark costs and had no strategic revenue plans and he outlined the magnitude of debt created in the country. The Minister of Finance concluding the debate on the Amendments to the Appropriation Act stated that the government is drafting roadmaps to empower state owned enterprises by eliminating waste and corruption. He stated that the mega projects which had been initiated by the then government would be continued to the actual
cost, so the tax paid by the people would effectively be utilized. The amendments were
debated for three full days and put to the vote. 165 voted for and 1 against and the Act was passed.
The Minister of Finance, Hon. Ravi Karunanayake MP addresses the Sri Lankan parilament
The Parliamentarian | 2015: Issue Two | 121
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