Parliament

Bill passed with a whimper, amid Eastern rumblings
By Chandani Kirinde Our Lobby Correspondent
Although one was expecting a lot of fireworks when the controversial Inland Revenue (Special Provisions) (Amendment) Bill was taken up for debate last Thursday, it was passed with a little more than a whimper, but some of the tension in the Eastern Province that was causing rumblings among the Muslim representatives in Parliament, spilled beyond the chamber walls.

Ports Minister Rauff Hakeem and NUA MP Ferial Ashraff traded allegations at one another at two separate press conferences held in the committee rooms of Parliament on Tuesday. While Mrs. Ashraff said that the Muslim partners in the UNF government needed to take the blame for the worsening security situation in the east, Mr. Hakeem accused her of trying to take political advantage of the killing of Muslims in the east.
One issue both agreed on was their strong belief that the LTTE was behind the killings.
Meanwhile, Finance Minister K.N. Choksy managed to get the date for the wide-ranging tax amnesty granted under the Inland Revenue (Special provisions) Act extended till August 31, 2003.

The initial Act was passed in March, with tax evaders being given time till June 30 this year to make declarations. The Amendment was brought to extend the date till August 15, but during the committee stage of the bill Mr. Choksy moved for a further amendment, seeking an extension of the date till August 31.

Although the amendment Bill was challenged in the Supreme Court, the Superior Court had determined that the bill was not unconstitutional. However, two other important finance bills, namely the Recovery of Loans by Bank and the Debt Recovery Bill, both special provisions amendment bills, could not be taken up for debate as scheduled last week, as their constitutionality has been challenged in the Supreme Court.

Explaining the reason for extending the date till August 31, Mr. Choksy said representations have been received from accountants and lawyers that several of their clients had withheld making the declarations prior to August 15, awaiting the Supreme Court determination. The Minister also revealed to the House that 28,200 declarations have already been received, making it the highest under any of the ten amnesty laws enacted by parliament since 1964.

However, the Opposition was critical of the government's over-enthusiasm to please only their rich buddies. "You have no money for school uniforms or for agriculture subsidies. Electricity, telephone and water rates are going up everyday. But you are giving a very generous gift to all your friends," charged Colombo district PA MP Nimal Siripala De Silva.

The PA legislator said there was opposition to the bill from within the government ranks as well, and said the government was leading the country towards "financial ruin."
Most of the Opposition speakers repeated the allegation that those who were benefiting under this amnesty were those who funded the election campaign of the UNF government and the Finance Minister's objective was to fulfil the promise made to them that their tax evasions would be pardoned.

Another PA MP Raja Collure said that despite the court ruling, this bill grants special favours for a certain segment of the population and was unfair by the thousands of honest taxpayers in the country.

Much of the debate was quite lacklustre, with just managing to maintain a quorum to keep the day-long proceedings going during the debate and despite much of the Opposition protests and anger at the granting of the amnesty, not many of the speakers came out with explicit details of the tax violators who had sought cover under the Act.Meanwhile, the JVP group leader in Parliament, Wimal Weerawansa, continued with his regular habit of making special statements in the House, this time on the ensuing situation in the east.

"While the LTTE is free to continue with the ceasefire violations, the MoU has tied the hands of the security forces. It is the government and the so called Muslim leaders that support the government who must take responsibility for the killings taking place," he said.

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