Sri Lanka politicians oppose taxes, while promoting inflation and money printing

Sept 05, 2007 – Sri Lanka's opposition, including a Marxist party which engineered fuel subsidies and mass state recruitment forcing the government to print money and push inflation up, is now opposing taxes and demanding higher wages. In 2004, the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna called for fuel subsidies to remove what it labeled 'a plug' to the world economy and forced the government to print 65.8 billion rupees to finance fuel and fertilizer subsidies and government salaries.

Inflationary Policies

This pushed inflation up to more than 15 percent from 2 percent in less than a year, even without a war and the national currency fell to 105 against the dollar from 96 in the period until tsunami aid stabilized the country.

Critics say even before all the dead bodies of victims were buried in January 2004, the party called for increased fuel subsidies on the premise that tsunami aid had brought in more money.

In 2006, inflation went up to 19.3 percent, as the government printed 38.5 billion to finance subsidies and a further increase in government salaries and more recruitment and defence expenditure with a ceasefire in tatters.

A JVP led plantation union Monday called for a daily minimum wage of 400 rupees, ru