Financial Times

CCC warns of further deterioration in law and order
The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC) last week warned of a possible deterioration in the country's law and order adversely affecting all facets of civic society and leading to a national crisis if a sustainable plan to combat crime was not implemented with urgency.

Referring to the assassination of High Court Judge Sarath Ambepitiya and coming in the wake of two other incidents - mob attack of a nightclub in Colombo and the killing of a Finance Manager of a member company, the CCC said for more than five years it has highlighted the fundamental implications of lawlessness and submitted recommendations for the alleviation of crime.

"While hitherto no effective action was taken, the (CCC) Committee is gratified that the Inspector General of Police has now appointed a Senior DIG and a SSP to liaise with the Chamber on this grave issue. Taking precedence will be the study of a Report, submitted to the government in October last year, prepared by a Committee which included eminent Police personnel, two Ministry Secretaries and a representative of this Chamber," the chamber statement said after a monthly meeting of its committee.

The committee mandated the Leadership Team of the Chamber to request the government to review the implementation of specific proposals on Corporate Tax, as it opposed the principle of disallowing legitimate business expenses, such as foreign travel, advertising costs and entertainment expenses, to be deducted from taxable income. "The revenue loss by reversing such provisions would be marginal and will have little or no impact on the budget deficit," it said.

Back to Business