Columns

According to Buddhism all those who preach must preach what is just and good. What is meant by Just is making life meaningful.
Meaningful living in the long run embraces economic behaviour that helps proper living. When Ranasinghe Premadasa assumed duties as President and was informed about the bankruptcy of the government, I being a British citizen at the time explained to him the Tax structure of that country. He introduced the VAT to Sri Lanka at a rate of 1.5%. This helped the government to manage the economy and did not cause many problems for the people. With time this Tax was raised, but not lowered. During the time of President Mahinda Rajapaksa it was raised to 11% and was lowered later. The present government raised it to 15%. But the Supreme Court intervened and for the time being put a stop to it being raised.

Sometime ago when Thailand was in economic crisis, the Maha Sangha of the country came out onto the streets with the begging bowl. It was not to beg for food but for valuables such as money, gold and silver and donated them to the government. The Maha Sangha was able to help put the country on a forward path within a week.

In Sri Lanka many have forgotten about the insurrections of 1971 and 1987-1989 and the terrorism in the north and east. Who are the members of the clergy who came out with courage to stop the killings? Now again as the country tries to raise its head, there are forces rising against it.

When visiting Africa I observed that to identify a hunting ground of the lion, tiger or the bear we had only to look at the sky. Hawks fly over the hunting spots. Here we have crows. From the media we learn about the escalation of robberies and other crimes in the country. It was reported that public money went to the hands of criminals. And that maybe one of the reasons why the VAT had to be increased. Most robbers were not punished and what they robbed was not confiscated. If the gates are left open there will be a breakdown in the rule of law and increase in crime.

Recently a driver told us the following pathetic story while taking us for a religious ceremony “Reverend Sir, I was born in Gampola. I have two daughters working in a garment factory. My wife had diabetes, and later a kidney ailment. I took her for Dialysis to the Kalubowila Hospital. There are four machines there. One or two machines are often broken. I had to get private medical help. Twice a week we had to get the dialysis done. They charged around Rs. 8,000 for each dialysis. For a week it was Rs. 16,000.

“During this time the VAT was increased and the charge was Rs. 10,000 for each dialysis. I asked help from the President’s Fund. An amount was approved. By that time my wife died, and now her three months’ almsgiving is due. I am 65 and I do this casual job as a driver. Some days I have no work. If I work the good gentlemen gives me Rs. 1100 for a day. Because of today’s ceremony I will not get any money. Once I leave the vehicle behind I will have no money to take the bus home.”

Stories such as this are told by many. Consultation fees, fees for medical reports, unavailability of medicinal drugs in public hospitals, long queues in the waiting list for operations, sky high prices of milk foods and added to these came VAT.
Because of free education we have tuition classes in most places. Though many charge VAT from students, that money is not remitted to the government by them. Some system should be adopted to correct this. Since many have become greedy for money there is widespread robbery taking place. All of us must be united to curb or eradicate robbery and cheating from society. Public institutions are the worst offenders. Without a bribe little or nothing can be done.

Many people have got used to robbing or cheating. Therefore we see many people involved in security work. But we find it difficult to find someone who would pluck fruits from a tree. The trader buys a Thambili from the owner at Rs. 15 or 20 at most. He sells it for Rs. 60.

There is an increase in the sale of alcohol, illicit drugs and pills because the number of users has increased. Some waste money just for pleasure or satisfaction. In every town there is an increase in liquour shops. Illicit drugs are sol at various places including school gates.

In the days gone by a coffin was made at home. There was no embalming. Today, even in the villages, they keep the body for several days and go on gambling and drinking. In the village today if two or three get together there is gambling.

Formalin is used for the embalming of bodies. During the Jayewardene era we requested that this be stopped. Today most food items contain a little poison. There are more sick
people today, more beggars, lots of lotteries, but few winners. If there are winners
the government gets a tax.
The government says it is not getting enough taxes, but it is spending a lot of money on publicity with regard to taxes. Lot of people earn commissions on account of this.

We need to get used to simple living. Tax must be imposed on those who waste money.
The punishment for those evading tax not only be a fine but a jail term and confiscation of property. We must do away with the taxing of every day items like onions, chilies and other food items and tax only imported foods and luxury items Government officials who are obviously living beyond their means should be brought before peoples committees for an inquiry.

Millionaires and billionaires are debtors to the banks. Many show their debt to get away from paying taxes. If loans are taken they should be taxed, and such taxes should be high. That way we can stop unwanted practice of taking loans. Insurance must be related to the actual value of the vehicle. Taxis and public vehicles do not have full insurance cover today. If there is an accident and people are affected there is no compensation. From the fuel pumps, to the measuring scales there is often tampering. We came out with a plan to stop cheating at fuel stations. If we collect diesel or petrol in a litre bottle we will know how we are being cheated.

Traders should be told or shown how they should do business without cheating but by being fair to customers.
Though we boast about Sri Lanka we are known as a country where employees can take excess leave and go on without working. We have unfortunately earned the reputation of leading in cheating, robbery and drug peddling. To change this we need to educate our society and create a religious atmosphere.

As was done by the Thai clergy we too can work out a system with the help of all clergy. First of all we have to spread the ideas about thrift and then about correct investment. We must eradicate fraud and wastage and cultivate good habits. We waste a lot of money on food. We waste so much food that dogs and crows are increasing in numbers.

We must take immediate steps to curtail imports. Increase of VAT on these items would be one way. Supermarkets are full of cheese, chocolate, and other luxury foods that we did not taste before. The sale of alcoholic beverages through supermarkets should be stopped. We seem to live in a country with no identity. It is useless to talk about caste creed and waste our time. All must be advised to encourage good qualities.