MPs JUST GOT A Rs 12.5Million Pay Raise as a result of the Budget

The information we just received from the Motor Traders Association, was that the cost of a new Toyota Land Cruiser, the preferred choice of vehicle imported by the Sri Lankan MPs duty free, had gone up by a staggering Rs12.5Million.

YES a twelve million five hundred thousand rupee increase in the excise duty.

As the MPs are entitled to a duty free permit at the highest level to import such vehicles, and then sell it on, this effectively means that the permit is now worth that much more!

IS IT FAIR I ASK? That these sort of games are played out in broad daylight, to fool the masses.

Surely when Minister Eran Wickremaratne, one of the more dedicated Ministers in Government, says that as MPs and Ministers are so badly paid, this permit should be treated as part of their compensation and so it is OK, we have a problem with his absurd thinking too, because he has joined the club and is no longer batting for the people who he has promised to serve and instead the club he has joined, just like all the other rogues.

We should get our priorities right. If we know that such a vehicle is now Rs50M new, and only MPs can get this duty free, then there is something wrong when only they are able to go about in these vehicles, showing their might and power, when they have resulted in the state earning Rs43Million LESS in duty by this means.

We must stop all duty reduced vehicles in Sri Lanka, so that the level playing field is created, so anyone can pay the full whack and buy vehicles if they so wish by paying the duty. It is the powerful Motor Manufacturers Association/Motor Traders Association, that is working hand in glove with the MPs and Ministers who stand to gain most from this duty free/duty reduced permits, as otherwise new vehicle sales would plummet.

It is therefore their pressure on their friends as they are all in the same cocktail parties eating and drinking who are protected, as there is a kind of back scratching going on with the MPs then being given a discount on the vehicles in addition to the duty concession, a kind of bribe or sweetener that passes the acid test as it cannot be proved. They could get free upgrades on the vehicle, free options, or the luxury package thrown in as part of the deal.

IT ALL SUCKS, and the poor citizen effectively ends up paying for this folly. If Eran does not think it is bad, then we have lost the plot in this country. LEAVE!