Member of Parliament Dr. Harsha De Silva said that if the house cannot use 60 to 90 kilowatt hours per month, the house will be subjected to electricity poverty and it is not possible to develop a country with electricity poverty. Sri Lanka Latest News
Dr. Harsha de Silva said that the cost of producing electricity should be charged and that the charge should be fairly charged.
Mr. Harsha de Silva also said that he once stopped a coal tender and that he is preparing to give the coal tender to the same company again for 3 years.
Dr. Harsha De Silva stated this at a press conference held at the opposition leader’s office in Colombo today (01).
Dr. Harsha de Silva, who further commented, said:
“According to the latest data, the government expected 718 billion from company tax and personal income tax and received 495 billion. 100 billion was expected from value added tax. 119 billion have been received. Voluntary taxes have not been received. The government has taken tax money to be cut by force. 90 billion expected from the merchandise tax to protect the consumer and the producer. 122 billion have been received. Expected 10 billion from casino tax, received 5.6 billion. 553 billion was expected from value added tax and 350 billion has been received”.
Increasing the value added tax to 18 percent will not make a difference this year. A change will happen in 2024. The amount received from value added tax is less.
The government has focused its full attention on increasing the government’s revenue. Vat has been reduced to 8 percent and various stories. Now trying to increase. There are people in the government who have no policy. The government should work out how to collect taxes from the people who pay taxes voluntarily.
The Excise Department expected 217 billion in 2023. 123 billion has been received from alcohol tax. 66 billion from tobacco. 350 billion from licenses. 750 billion from the sticker. The difference between Excise Department’s target and achieved revenue is 92 billion. There is a problem of not paying taxes. Vijayadasa Rajapakse says that there is a loss of 80 billion due to the safety sticker on the alcohol bottles. Taxpayers are being charged more taxes. There is no program to collect taxes from people who do not pay. Laws are made to steal all the things of the people who cannot be lost. People who have to pay crores of taxes are at large.
According to the budget bill, the defense ministry’s renewal expenditure is 365 billion. 214 billion for the army, 14 billion for the navy, 50 billion for the air force. In addition, 110 billion to the police. About 500 billion is spent on security. There is no increase in the salaries of the soldiers.
The electricity bill was increased to eliminate the loss of Sri Lanka Electricity Board. To reduce the loss of the petroleum corporation, the price of oil was increased. The cost of generating electricity should be charged. The recovery should be done fairly. When charging for electricity, we need to see if the method of using electricity changes. If a house cannot use 60-90 kilowatt hours in a month, that house is subject to electricity poverty.”
Question – Will it be possible to increase the salaries of government employees?
Answer – It is reported that the President’s cabinet submitted a paper that the salaries of government employees will be increased by 12,500. We need to get money from somewhere else to raise wages. It is not possible to mold money now. If you increase somewhere, you need to cut somewhere else. Is the 3 percent increase in VAT enough? Increase the salaries of public servants. On the one hand, wages are increasing. On the other hand, taxes to be paid will increase. It is hard to imagine that the remaining amount of their pockets will increase through that. If there is an increase in wages more than the VAT, some money can be left in the pocket. If the VAT increases more than the salary increase, there will be no money left in the pocket.
Question – The Excise Department has had to increase taxes due to lack of revenue.
Answer – There is a big fraud in the seal on the alcohol bottle. Wijayadasa Rajapakse says that there is a loss of 80 billion due to the safety sticker on alcohol bottles. What are the measures to stop this corruption fraud? There is a justification in increasing taxes if we take the fraud money somehow and clean up that money. It is unfair to raise taxes without doing so.
