The Hon. Ruwanthilaka Jayakody

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Chairperson of Committees, in our policy statement “A Prosperous Country – A Beautiful Life,” we clearly stated we would set tax policy right, make tax administration efficient, and create a simple tax system. In line with that, the Inland Revenue (Amendment) Bill is taken up today.

¶ 02 Our key objective is to increase direct taxes relative to indirect taxes. Why do we need taxes? To fund relief to the people and uplift their lives — for schools, health, and infrastructure. We need to improve schools, provide sanitation, sports grounds, classrooms, desks, benches, and sufficient teachers. We must find the money.

¶ 03 We also have to develop hospitals further. Though we reduced medicine prices to some extent, there is still a need to improve affordability and availability, strengthen support staff, upgrade infrastructure, modernize the hospital system, and take measures for digitization. To do all this, we must collect more through direct taxes by putting tax policy on a proper footing.

¶ 04 We must also improve rural infrastructure — roads and other amenities that people need. In villages, there are government officers like Grama Niladhari, Agrarian officers, Samurdhi officers. Successive governments have failed to provide them proper offices. We need funds to do this, so people’s rural lives can be uplifted.

¶ 05 However, in the past there was weak tax administration, inefficiency, corruption, tax frauds, tax reliefs to cronies, and tax evasion — making it hard to fund development.

¶ 06 Earlier, an MP who beat his chest here shouted loudly. We say to him: first, pay your own electricity bill from your own money without burdening the people’s taxes. They later changed that practice.

¶ 07 Politicians were often involved in grants of tax concessions, corruption, and tax frauds. Historically, politicians were linked to many such incidents. For example, we know that Sajin de Vass Gunawardena is alleged to have evaded taxes amounting to Rs. 36.9 million; a case is pending. A case against Yoshitha Rajapaksa is pending in relation to acquiring assets worth Rs. 73.5 million. Did they earn that from the people’s tax money or from selling coconuts in Medamulana? There is also a case about Rs. 1.5 billion of assets involving Mervyn Silva.

¶ 08 A very notable recent fraud was the Airbus transaction, which caused a huge loss to the Government. The State paid Rs. 1,150 million without even receiving a winglet. It was alleged that Kapila Chandrasena took a USD 2 million commission from a French company and that Rs. 20 million each in three instances went to then President Mahinda Rajapaksa through then subject Minister Piyankara Jayaratne. That is how public money was misused.

¶ 09 Another incident is the sugar tax scam under the Gotabaya Rajapaksa Government; a case is pending. This is how former politicians used public funds and taxes. Our Government brings reforms to correct this and manage public funds properly, to modernize tax policy, and digitize systems.

¶ 10 From the Airbus episode, we learn of a deep state — a para-state — sometimes involving officials in white-collar roles connecting with it. Some members of this network may one day pay with their lives for their past deeds; that is how entrenched it has become.

¶ 11 An Opposition Member said the dollar was stabilized under Ranil Wickremesinghe and that only after we came in did the country destabilize. But remember: when the dollar was at Rs. 289, the country was closed, businesses were collapsed, and there were no goods for people. It was like keeping a dying patient artificially conscious.

¶ 12 Now the dollar fluctuates around Rs. 329–339. But the economy is open; we have not stopped imports or cut salaries. Amidst global and domestic shocks, we are steering the economy strongly. The Opposition seems to want to drag the economy down again for political gain rather than to provide real relief. Despite the storms, we are maintaining a stable, creditable performance and moving the country forward. With that reminder, I conclude.

¶ 13 Thank you.