Civil society and religious leaders have condemned the Opposition for its failure to carry out its legislative duties properly and prevent the government from passing tax laws to fleece the public.
Chief Incumbent of the Sugatha Dharmayathana of Mount Lavinia Ven Moraketiare Somananda Thera, addressing a press conference in Colombo, on Saturday, said that the government’s controversial new tax law, the Inland Revenue (Amendment) Bill, had been passed in Parliament on Friday with 79 votes for and 36 against. “That means only 36 opposition MPs were present in the House. Except the Speaker, there are 224 MPs. Of them, only 115 MPs were there when this law was passed. The MPs seem to have no concern of the plight of people. Otherwise, they would not have skipped parliamentary session on that day. They should not have allowed the passage of the new tax law at a time like this when there are protests everywhere demanding justice and people are starving without food,” Ven Somananda Thera said.
General Secretary of the Ceylon Teachers’ Union Joseph Stalin, addressing an event held in Colombo to mark the Human Rights Day, questioned what other opposition MPs had been doing as only 36 had voted against the controversial Bill.
Stalin said that the new tax regime would impose an extraordinary maximum 36 per cent tax bracket on monthly income with the lowest bracket starting at 6 per cent for those earning over Rs. 100,000 per month. The only amendment of importance appears to be that the new personal income tax will come into effect from Jan 1, 2023 instead of Dec 1, 2022 – the original date intended by the Bill. “There are public protests against the new tax laws. Everybody accepts that this Inland Revenue Bill was against the interests of people. But the Opposition does not seem concerned.”
National Organizer of Youth for Change, Lahiru Weerasekera said that the new taxes had been criticised by the country’s professionals and economists. “They have pointed out that this new law will aggravate the massive brain drain. We as a nation are already battered by bankruptcy caused by massive government mismanagement and corruption. It is in this context the government is trying to fleece the public further. The results show that the opposition MPs did not have a genuine concern for people. That is why we keep telling that we cannot expect solutions for our problems from this parliament comprising MPs who jump from one side to the other from time to time to better their lot,” Weerasekera said.