Sri Lanka Tamil Tigers developing refined tax system

Oct 29, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers are developing a sophisticated tax collection system to raise funds from the Tamil diaspora for its war that appears to rival that of legitimate governments in efficiency, new research shows. The Tigers are developing a system in Europe, where much of the Tamil diaspora resides, in which assessments can be fine-tuned to include lifestyle, according to research presented by a counter-terrorism expert at a recent conference in Colombo.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) are shifting to a more predictable, stable income format says Shanaka Jayasekara, a research assistant of the Centre for Policing, Intelligence & Counter Terrorism in Australia.

"All Tamil families in Europe are being systematically registered and assigned a unique PIN number (personal identification number)," Jayasekara, told an International Conference on Countering Terrorism in Colombo.

The first phase of the programme started in Switzerland in early 2006 with each Tamil family being issued with a form with 30 questions relating to personal information including details of blood relatives in Sri Lanka, income status, subscription to LTTE satellite television and contribution to 'homeland' funds.

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