Privilege matter raised in House over SC petition to suspend actions to increase state revenue

Kalutara District SLPP Parliamentarian Lalith Warna Kumara raising a question of privilege in Parliament yesterday said the privileges of all 225 MPs including himself have been violated due to a petition submitted to the Supreme Court demanding the suspension of the actions taken to increase the revenue of the state.

The MP said that there is a serious doubt that whether the intention behind the effort is to curtail Parliament’s powers over public finance.

He said that this petition has been submitted to the Supreme Court under SC FR Application No: SC/FRA/131/23 claiming that it is related to the 12th and 17th clauses of the Constitution.

Warna Kumara said that the government’s revenue target for the year 2024 is Rs. 2,024 billion through the Inland Revenue Department, Rs. 1,533 billion through Sri Lanka Customs, and Rs. 232 billion through the Excise Department.

He mentioned that it will also be done by other supervisory committees related to the economy. The MP said that this targeted revenue collection and the inspection in this regard will be done by the Finance and Procedures Committees of Parliament and other oversight committees related to the economy. He said that through the proposals and reviews of the International Monetary Fund, it has been recommended that economic measures should be taken to increase the government’s income. The MP who said that the fees for liquor tax and newly obtained licences have been increased to increase direct taxes based on the government’s tax system, said that two of the petitioners who submitted the petition are running liquor stores. The MP also mentioned that there is a serious doubt whether their need is a conspiracy to reduce the government’s income by stopping the rising taxes through the new scheme. Warna Kumara further stated that the advocates of these petitioners have tried to steal the financial power of Parliament through the courts in the past. SLPP Nuwara Eliya District MP Nimal Piyatissa questioned whether it is possible to go to court and challenge the decisions taken by the Legislature which has powers over public finance. Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena said that he will refer the relevant question to the Privileges Committee.

The post Privilege matter raised in House over SC petition to suspend actions to increase state revenue appeared first on DailyNews.