“A Marie Antoinette move,” says Mangala over incentive to import racing cars

Monday, 19 November 2012 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

UNP Member of Parliament Mangala Samaraweera has charged that the Government’s decision to reduce import taxes on racing cars was a “Marie Antoinette” type gesture.

During his speech on the Budget debate in Parliament on Saturday, Samaraweera alluded to the extravagant French queen who famously told her subjects to eat cake if they cannot afford bread, saying: “In a classic Marie Antoinette gesture, the Finance Minister was audacious enough to grant a duty waiver to luxury racing cars while increasing the duty of normal vehicles.”

The Opposition lawmaker warned that as the Government presents its fourth Budget since the end of the war, Sri Lanka was a country in crisis. “An unprecedented economic crisis is looming on the horizon as a result of the rampant corruption and economic mismanagement; the systematic dismantling of the rule of law while trying to subjugate the independence of our institutions from Hulftsdorf to Welikada,” he said.

He said that the much anticipated peace dividend is yet to materialise for 99 per cent of the population whilst a small group was reaping the benefits of the end of the war. The chosen modes of travel for this group are flashy racing cars like Lamborghinis, Ferraris and Aston Martins he said, adding, “In the face of such ostentation, the billion dollar question asked by many people is: where is all this money coming from?”