MPs’ Vehicle Bonanza:
Posted on May 11th, 2016
Sudath Gunasekara
11.5.2016
Here is a golden chance for all those politicians who say they have gone to Parliament to serve the people to demonstrate their credentials. In my opinion if they have a wee bit of shame they all should reject this criminal bribe offered by the Government to keep those in the government tied to the post to muster the vote and to allure those on the other side of the fence to cross over.
Each politician calls the other a rogue and those in the opposition rogues who wantonly rob the public. This is a golden opportunity to show the country that they are angels with no blood in their hands who work for the suffering masses day and night. Let us see whether there is a single politician down the line from the President to the ‘poor’ Mp. who haven’t yet being appointed a Minister even without a Ministry and a subject?
I take a bet there will be none.
I am lost to understand as to why the people of this country tolerate this bunch of merciless and blood sucking ‘Alibaba and the 225 thieves’.
The following news item under the caption MPs’ Vehicle Bonanza:”
is only a drop of 40 m one gets once in 3 years in the mighty ocean of bonanzas each one of them, in addition to the thousand and one other privileges and benefits get for keeping the party leaders in the paradise of power while the masses strangulated and blood sucked with VAT and BAT are suffering in the hell of abject poverty and misery.
When I watch the present situation in Sri Lanka it reminds me of the pre-French Revolution France But I don’t think even the pre-Revolution France was as bad as ours as it is going at present. If I am permitted to repeat rather in a slight different form, as Charles Dickens said ‘It is the best of times for them, it is the worst of time for the masses; they have everything before them, we have nothing before us; it is the season of light for them, and it is the season of darkness for us; it is the spring of hope for them and it is the winter of despair for us, they are all living in salubrious heavens and we are all suffering in boiling hell.
You should not get surprised if tomorrow we have Balu Badda and anga Badda too introduced to give more and more to the poor, malnourished politicians. Whatever they do the green will vote the green, blue will vote the blue and the red will vote the red. The dogs will continue to bark but the caravan will move on.
MR loyalist first to benefit from mega tax waiver
More than Rs. 40 mn tax exemptions for each parliamentarian’s vehicle
May 11, 2016, 7:15 am
By Madura Ranwala
A UPFA Parliamentarian has taken delivery of his tax free vehicle, a brand new Range Rover Sport Diesel S/Wagon released by paying Customs only Rs. 1,750 as Customs Declaration fee. He had paid about Rs. 8.9 mn as Cost Insurance and freight (CIF) for the vehicle a member of the Sri Lanka Customs Unions told The Island last night.
The UPFA MP in the Joint Opposition was among 225 parliamentarians entitled to import luxury vehicles after paying a pittance by way of taxes or charges while the public continued to be burdened with increased new taxes such as VAT and NBT, the unionist said.
The unionist confirmed that the vehicle bearing the chassis no. SALWA2KE7GA561921 and engine number 0988086306DTA had been imported from a British company called Providence Trading Ltd. and cleared recently by a clearing agency in Sri Lanka named Frontline Enterprises in Mattakkuliya.
The vessel Conti Everest, which transported the vehicle, reached Sri Lanka on April 16.
“If the vehicle had been imported to the country with all the taxes, it should be valued at Rs. 45 million in the local market to earn a profit as it would have cost more than Rs. 42 million.
“This concession has been granted under Customs Procedure Code, 4000 / VEE,” he said.
The taxes exempted are Rs. 2,675,047 on Customs Import Duty (CID), Rs. 668,762 on Port Aviation Levy (PAL), Rs. 29,737,603 on Excise Import Duty (XID), Rs. 1,051,740 on Nation Building Tax (NBT) and Rs. 7,888,045 on Value Added Tax (VAT).
May 11th, 2016 at 4:13 pm
Yes. I saw this report in Divayina. there was another one ( as I remember was from the same writer ) saying how various people including retire army officers, foreigners etc. paid the huge Air travel bill of Namal, questioned the commission. Suddenly this report disappeared in an hour.
‘Alibaba and the 225 thieves’. – fully agree ! But the thieves have great followers , all around the world.
May 11th, 2016 at 4:19 pm
I bet the bugger got the Rs. 8.9m also from a bank as a loan which he will repay by siphoning out from a voted fund in the parliament later.
May 11th, 2016 at 4:23 pm
Otherwise he would not cross over from so called ‘nationalists’ to ‘internationalist’. Papa’s money coming from every corner of the world.
May 11th, 2016 at 5:29 pm
I am looking to buy a car in SL that is both big (ie, crash worthy because I live in mortal fear of ending up as road kill) and affordable.
But at Rs 45 million (thr price of a luxury house in Sri Lanka) it would seem I would have to enter politics and get elected to Parliament first.
That might be the only way I can do it. Hmmmm …. food for thought!
May 11th, 2016 at 7:51 pm
Thank you Sudath.
The Joint Opposition is no different to the rest. None of them protested when they benefitted although they blame the VAT increase. One reason for the increase is to allow them luxury vehicles.
The 2011 budget snapped a tax on tractors but removed taxes on luxury and expensive vehicles. Some justified it saying it will enable locals to buy expensive vehicles for night races which would bring foreign currency from visitors. Don’t we have young MPs driving around in Aston Martins and Lamborghinis! These are bought from the meagre earnings of poor woman toiling in the middle east. These people are denied voting rights too. What a shame!
May 11th, 2016 at 8:20 pm
Ananda,
Please take the bus and report me back how you enjoyed. You will realise the worth of ‘luxury highways’ to common man.
May 11th, 2016 at 9:05 pm
Dham old chap,
I do ride buses in Sri Lanka, only because they are bigger and more crash worthy than any car I can afford to buy in Sri Lanka. Perfect size of vehicle for me, it’s the sharing it with 50 other people that is a problem.
Oh, BTW, the buses travel on those super highways that you don’t like and take right across the country in far less time than otherwise so I can attend to my business activities.
If the MR/UPFA GOSL had not been ousted by your chums, a few more highways would have been completed for more buses to travel on. A family I am helping to educate their children had to give up admitting their daughter from to the Govt Science College in Matale, because the bus trip from Gampola to Matale was too expensive, took too long, and too tiring for the child and the parent. The GOSL recently setup a Bus-Train from Peradeniya to Kandy to help people avoid the road traffic jams, but …. you guessed it …. a superhighway could have helped.
Briefly, my dear chap, ordinary people roding buses and 3-wheelers also benefit from superhighways. We need more, but the bankrupt Yamapalana Govt has other financial priorities such as political witch-hunts.
May 11th, 2016 at 9:37 pm
@Ananda
Science College ?
Good she is not going there. I have couple of batch mates from there, one BIGGEST LIAR in the world and the other is a big Bebay cannot stand them and many more souls – all strange people sucking up to Suddas. If I call them ( when they are in the office), they reply sooo quiet can’t even hear, because I always speak Sinhala loud and clear.
I hate 3 wheelers only 2nd to 13A. Killing our people more than kidney decease. Please ask you bro to remove them and I will be worshipping him more than you do. daily.
May 11th, 2016 at 9:59 pm
Dham,
I am crushed that you find your batch mates so deficient, but how does that relate to the Govt Science College? Now, if you had said that they were ill educated and unprepared by the Science College for higher learning in your batch, that indeed would have some relevance and of interest to us.
But, old chap, we do need to exercise some logic you know, like relating cause to effect.
As an expert in Buddhism, which is all about cause and effect, I am certain you will appreciate that.
May 11th, 2016 at 10:10 pm
Dham,
Ah … about 3-wheelers … I hate them too, but despite the greater danger, they are affordable and omnipresent, much more so than regular taxis.
They are a great help to ordinary people needing to save money, and until Sri Lanka becomes middle income country, they are absolutely necessary.
Given that your JVP chums have helped to OUST the MR/UPFA GOSL that would have made that progress possible in say a decade, now we will have to grimace and hzng on for at least 5-more years!
May 11th, 2016 at 10:19 pm
Boss,
My English not your ‘Royal’ English although I could have been your class mate too. But I did say “I have a couple of batch mates from there”. Italic means the science college.
One day, in one of those ‘science’ old boy’s house, the LIAR was talking about ‘deep Buddhism’ very seriously. No one noticed, but I told him ” you are holding a beer in hand and appreciating Buddhism”.
I am no expert at all. I get often humbled by a very good monk, ex-mech engineer and old boy of St. Thomas’s (who doesn’t touch money , no driving cars , a good teacher) whom I have been in regular contact with for 20 years. Except for his ‘Royal’ English we are very close.
May 11th, 2016 at 10:32 pm
Dham, old chap,
Sorry to disappoint you, but I am not a Royalist, but very close to them in spirit!
Just keep trying and you will eventually hit the nail on its head! It ain’t hard!
May 12th, 2016 at 6:12 am
I don’t mind the concessions for the MPs.
My concern is these people buy rubbish like Land Rovers made by TATA. But then most of the MPs get paid by Indians and Indian colonial parasites and Wallahs.
We have to understand the fact that Sinhala MPs are very poor like most of us compared to Indian colonial parasites.
One of the Wallahs in Colombo has one of the biggest car collections in the world worth more than US$ four hundred million. That family funded N M Perera and his political parties.
We only see Sinhala rich (dhanapathiyo).