The Hon. D.V. Chanaka

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Speaker, first, I extend good wishes on the presentation of this Budget. There are many praiseworthy elements, and 159 Members are ready to speak about them. I will focus on shortcomings.

¶ 02 Yesterday, Minister Nalinda Jayatissa spoke proudly of going from 3% to 52% and forming a two-thirds government; then he spoke of a “two and a half percent” group and the moon. Whether moon or Mars, we will do our work. But Hon. Chief Organizer of the Government, protect your 6.8 million. Provincial Council elections are coming. Earlier you did not talk about the Pohottuwa; now you do—perhaps the surveys are not so comfortable. Our 2.5% has already become 3% within months.

¶ 03 This Budget diverges from the manifesto. It was introduced as a “tax-free” Budget. The Hon. Anura Kumara Dissanayake and all said so. Yet within the speech it expects a 24% tax increase and Rs. 4.6 trillion in tax revenue. Taxes are raised cleverly before the Budget. You promised to cut taxes. The policy statement says VAT will be removed on medicines, school supplies, and solar; and IT, too. I table the list. But we have not seen these VAT removals—empty promises.

¶ 04 Withholding tax was raised from 5% to 10% even before the Budget. At 5%, last year it yielded around Rs. 180 billion. Doubling to 10% adds another Rs. 180 billion—not from billionaires but from depositors: small savers, EPF balances, pensions, children’s savings. You keep saying “tax the billionaires,” but these are indirect hits on ordinary people.

¶ 05 You tax adults via alcohol and children via soft drinks—indirect taxes borne by consumers, not Coca-Cola or Pepsi. You also increased vehicle taxes. People hoped to buy a car for Rs. 2 million; instead, three-wheelers are Rs. 2 million and motorbikes Rs. 1 million. You justify not cutting taxes by saying leasing companies would collapse. By that logic, you will never reduce taxes in any year.

¶ 06 Further, you propose restricting imports to vehicles under two years old. In countries like Japan, prices drop substantially only after four years due to condition requirements. A two-year limit blocks affordable purchases and favors the super-rich.

¶ 07 You claim this is a Budget for fisheries and agriculture. You briefly reduced fuel for fishers by Rs. 25 for two months around elections; since then, no support has reached fishers. On paddy, farmers asked for Rs. 10 more per kilo to reach Rs. 130. Instead, when mill owners met the President, the controlled retail price of rice was raised from Rs. 220 to Rs. 230 within minutes. Farmers’ request was denied; millers’ request granted swiftly. This is not a Budget for the little man.

¶ 08 You promised 35,000 jobs for unemployed graduates and also for those over 45. These promises are disappearing. You boast of not issuing MPs’ vehicle permits since 2019—indeed none were issued since then. But executive-grade officers and doctors received permits; they have waited four years to import when allowed, and now you bar using those permits. That is unfair, especially to doctors who do not receive state vehicles with drivers unlike many executive officers. I urge the President and Prime Minister to allow previously granted executive and medical officer permits to be used.

¶ 09 We also see continuous intimidation. Yesterday, a Government State Minister publicly threatened our Parliamentary Group Leader, Hon. Namal Rajapaksa, saying if he goes to the villages “he will end up in a pit.” On one hand, you blame the Opposition for underworld activities; on the other, your own State Minister issues death threats. Is this a plan? We condemn this intimidation. We will not be silenced.

¶ 10 Thank you.