The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) says that the amendments made to the Value Added Tax (VAT) bill is simply an answer found to the objections faced by the government over the tax hike and that it has failed to provide a solution to the issue.
JVP Parliamentarian Vijitha Herath stated that according to the information revealed by the Cabinet Spokesman, additional sectors have been added for the imposition of VAT such as air tickets and milk powder. He said that due to the intense opposition to imposing VAT on the health sector, just one or two points have been removed but in general the VAT on health services has not been removed. Herath stated that by the time the Supreme Court’s decision regarding the VAT hike was announced, people had already paid the VAT and although it has been suspended now, the additional taxes charged have not been returned to the public.
He called on the government to immediately pay back the VAT which was paid by the people before the court decision. Replying to a question from a journalist, he said that while it is true the Rajapaksa administration took excessive loans and pushed the country towards an economic crisis, the incumbent government was not brought to power in order to move forward with the same system.