Letters to the Editor

Eliminate discriminatory tax policy
Top public servants earn millions, but don't pay tax
Article 12 (1) of our Constitution states, "all persons are equal before the Law and entitled to the equal protection of the Law".
Successive governments have brazenly violated this fundamental principle to the detriment of the tax paying public.

While income tax payers, including P.A.Y.E. tax payers, pay tax on earnings above Rs. 25,000 a month or Rs. 300,000 a year, the President, Cabinet Ministers, judges, ministry secretaries, heads of state institutions who come within the taxable threshold do not pay a cent by way of income tax. Is this fair, Mr. Finance Minister?
Let us for the time being, leave the President and Cabinet Ministers out, and discuss the earnings of a ministry secretary. He receives a staggering Rs. 142,000 a month - all tax free - as the table below shows.

Salary Rs. 40,000
Lease of car Rs. 40,000
Rent allowance Rs. 10,000
Residential phone bills Rs. 20,000
Water bill Rs. 2,000
Electricity bill -minimum Rs. 5,000
Petrol allowance Rs. 25,000
Total Rs. 142,000
In addition he gets an entertainment allowance plus a sizable foreign exchange allowance for each overseas trip.

They go abroad with the taxpayers' money, at least once every two months. So in effect, a top public servant earns Rs. 150,000 a month or Rs. 1,800,000 a year and is not taxed while a taxpayer is imposed a Rs. 300,000 threshold.

The discrepancy between a top public servant and the taxpayer is therefore Rs. 1,500,000. Do the President and the Finance Minister think this is fair? After all they claim to have come to serve the people and not themselves.

We suggest and recommend that the President and the Finance Minister resort to one of two alternatives - either tax top public servants and politicians, or exempt everyone whose income is less than Rs. 1,800,000 from income tax. There cannot be one law for politicians and public servants and another for income tax payers. If such a measure cannot be adopted, then income tax should be abolished.

There are only 150,000 tax files in the Inland Revenue Department whereas there should be at least a million for a population of 19 million people. The income tax collected from the same old taxpayers is not sufficient to pay the salaries of the tax department and to pay the rents for the buildings they occupy.

A recent news report said the Finance Ministry Secretary was giving tax officials vehicles and incentive bonuses. The Secretary himself does not pay tax, but is giving instructions to harass the already tax paying public.

Why should you give tax-free incentives for officials who are paid tax-free state salaries? Is the Secretary hoping to dole out these incentive bonuses from his private coffers? Are other government servants given incentive bonuses?

The President claims to be fair-minded - therefore she should rectify this anomaly. Some pay taxes while others prey on these taxes.
In recent times, there has been agitation and several newspaper articles, demanding the rectification of this great injustice.

Politicians and top public servants pretend not to have seen or read these articles: "There's none so blind as those who refuse to see". Why should the taxpayer pay taxes to maintain the President, Cabinet Ministers, Judges and top public servants in comfort, when they are insensitive to the manner the taxpayer is discriminated against.

Mister Minister, you know that the Queen of England voluntarily surrendered her immunity and has made herself subject to income tax. Also the President of the US, the Prime Minister of India and heads of state of all other democratic countries, their ministers, their senior public servants are all subject to income tax. Sri Lanka is probably the only country where politicians and top public servants do not pay income tax, but instead keep calling the existing taxpayers tax dodgers.

The real tax dodgers are the politicians and top public servants. Apart from not paying income tax, some of them amass wealth through corruption. The President has often said that politicians, public servants and even judges are corrupt.

However much we tell the Tax Department to increase the number of tax files, such requests have fallen on deaf ears. The taxmen keep pressurising the 150,000 odd existing taxpayers. They neither increase the tax files, nor do they themselves pay taxes. Instead, they harass the taxpayers and collect incentive bonuses as well, which are also tax-free.

The Finance Minister should bear in mind that giving more power to the Tax Department is giving an open licence for corruption. By this the government is encouraging corruption, rather than curbing. It should be borne in mind that the same laws and the same officers who are now encouraged to harass people would be used against the present government as well, when they are in the opposition. What is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander too!
The question often asked is "why should the tax payer pay to keep the politicians and public servants in comfort"?

Save us from Ramazan night street boys
Along with the blessed month of Ramadan, comes something ugly and disgusting, specific to Muslim-dominated areas in Colombo - Muslim boys turn the roads into giant playgrounds during the night and turn the lives of ordinary people into one pure hell for a whole month.

Both Muslims and non-Muslims dread this month, during which they are deprived of peace and sleep. Sermons in the mosques urge the youth to refrain from indulging in this practice, but to no avail.

The Police in places such as Kompanna Veediya, Grandpass, Maligawatte, Maradana and Meeraniya Street appear to be reluctant to take any action when angry residents complain about this. What their mobile patrols do during the night is anyone's guess! Should one have money or political influence to get the Police galvanised into action?

I urge the Ulemas to formulate some kind of an action regarding this very pressing matter, which had even led to communal clashes in some areas. I also appeal to the new Police Chief to instruct his personnel to take tough action against these youths.

It pains me a great deal, as a peace-loving Muslim, to highlight this matter in a national newspaper, but, as an ordinary citizen, I have no alternative.

From birth to death
The day I was born, bloodied
from my mother's womb,
but naked, smelly and dirty
crying,
whilst others must have laughed and smiled
looking at me, agog with ecstasy and pleasure
to receive the baby born to live and learn
in every sense.

Since then,
teen to elder, elder to aged
bringing me up the rungs of life's ladder
either good or bad
realizing its existence, amidst luxury or adversity
or even bad to worse,
brimming with nostalgia
and yet to know the limited distance to go ahead
through the voyage of Sansara
an endless destination.

*****
At the dying breath,
that alarms me to fade, a dew drop
hanging in the balance.
I would weep and cry to be alive a little more
for a little more fantasy,
but, when the time comes,
I'll have to go, leaving past
awards and merits for the
certificate of death.

Why cannot I face demise?
with blossoms? Making a tiny smile,
"Tom's no more," and so no more of Tom?
say "Goodbye" to all
whilst they look at me pale and in sorrow.

Clean up Urubokke watercourse
The maintenance of the watercourse at Urubokke in the Matara District which is also the water source of the Muruthewela reservoir in the Hambantota District, is completely neglected.
Now, it is a threat to the health of Urubokke residents. Water is stagnant and polluted while the surroundings are filthy.
It is a dumping ground for garbage and breeding ground for mosquitoes and other harmful insects and serpents.
We request the Government to take prompt action to rehabilitate the canal and make the surroundings a pleasant place to live in.

No files, no pension
The former government issued a circular in January 2004 rectifying the anomaly in the pensions of old pensioners. But it is unfortunate that some of the pensioners have still not been paid the increased pension.

Inquiries from the District and Divisional Secretariats about the inordinate delay in making this payment revealed that the files of these particular pensioners were not available or traceable.

It is also understood that with the decentralization, files of pensioners that were at the Pensions Department in Colombo have been sent to the respective District Secretariats. May I please suggest that the Minister of Public Administration issue a circular to all government departments where the pensioners served to issue copies of their personal files with the relevant data to the respective District Secretariats when an application to that effect is made.

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