Unreasonable tax increases to be enforced after May Day: MR

Apr 28, 2016 (LBO) – Sri Lankan general public will have to suffer from unreasonable tax increases that are to come into effect from 2 May 2016, Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa said. Releasing a statement Rajapaksa said the government is going to increase taxes because there is no money to continue implementing the reckless pledges they made to the voting public to win power. “They actually expected vast amounts of Western aid to flow in to sustain their government. But no country gives aid to fulfill election pledges.” the statement said. The statement added that the telephone and internet services will see the highest price increases as it will be hit by the VAT as well as the NBT. Rajapaksa said the president tried to pacify the public by saying he would rather send the economic advisors of the government home, than have burdensome taxes imposed on the people. “Two or three days later, a yahapalana minister called a press conference and announced that VAT would not apply to essential items like water, electricity, pharmaceuticals, rice and vegetables,” he said. “These were items on which VAT had never been charged anyway. But the impression conveyed to the public was that these items had been exempted from VAT by the president to provide relief to the poor.” The full statement is reproduced below. 28-April-2016-ENGLISH-PDF