Govt. faulted for “ridiculous” tax concessions to luxury goods

Wednesday, 22 January 2014 00:01 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The Government’s tax policy, which exempted Montblanc pens worth Rs. 600,000 and a pair of Louis Vuitton shoes valued at $ 2,500 from taxes came under attack in Parliament by the main Opposition party which termed it “ridiculous”. Having detailed the lopsided taxation policy UNP MP Dr. Harsha de Silva blamed government inefficacy for the failure to ensure a fair tax policy as recommended in the Presidential Committee on Tax Reform Policy Report. Highlighting the discrepancy between the taxes applicable for ordinary items used by masses compared to the up-market luxury goods Dr. De Silva said: “Government taxes the milk powder and the mobile phone reload excessively. There is a hefty Rs.25 tax component in each of the Rs. 100 reload. “It has been three years since Prof. W.D. Laxman came out with Presidential Commission Report on Tax Policy Reform. But until today this report has not been tabled in this House. Senior Minister Amunugama finds fault with Tamil translators. It is a shame that lack of Tamil translators delay the publishing this report,” charged UNP MP de Silva. (AH)