Govt. accused of placing heavy burdens on the public with Budget 2014

Opposition parties and a cross section of trade unions expressed their displeasure over the 2014 Budget proposals, accusing the Government of placing heavy burdens on the public.

The parties and trade unions pointed out that certain taxes which were not explained during the Budget has a direct bearing on the prices of essential items .

UNP Parliamentarian Dr. Harsha De Silva said that the Government was expecting a large income by taxing consumer goods.

He also added that, in terms of revenue, the Government expects to raise Rs 13.5 billion by increasing the tax on every food item starting from sugar, canned fish and dhal to onions and salt.

The Government also expects to raise Rs. 15 billion in revenue off the supermarket tax. The tax on reloads has also been increased, so that, if you reload for Rs 100, Rs 25 goes as tax, and you are left with Rs 75.

“Government says that they give some incentives like the Rs 1,200 increase in the cost of living allowance, the actual outlay is a total of Rs 17,000 million. So the Government gives Rs 17,000 million as incentives and extracts Rs 41,400 million through new taxes from food and reloads alone. One could see that the additional Rs 17,000 million is completely offset by the new tax- es,” he said.

JVP MP Sunil Handunnetti said the Government’s economic stance is not highlighted in this Budget, and its economic policy is clearly out of the Budget as well as the Parliament.

The JVP MP said last year’s Budget reflected some new strategy for the country, but this Budget is just a report that includes a collection of duties from all ministries.

“There are some tempting offers like bank loans. It is not new; bank loans are already available to entrepreneurs. If not for the meagre cost of living allowance for state sector employees and the delayed pension for farmers, there is no other relief to the public,” he said.

Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP Suresh Premachandran said that the Budget mainly focuses on the next presidential election.

“This Budget gives hope to the public, whether they will fulfil or implement it is doubtful. But the President’s Budget speech was almost like addressing a crowd close to an election,” he said.

Mr. Premachandran said there is concern over why last year’s Defence budget of Rs 249 billion increased to Rs 253.9 billion this year.

“There is the unemployment issue, and these monies could have been easily allocated to create more jobs or increase the allocation for the education sector,” he said.

He said the only pledge to the minority was the plan to erect 50,000 houses for estate workers.

“There are 89,000 war widows in the country. There was no mention about them at all,” he added.

Trade unions alleged that the 2014 Budget fails to address several key issues that various sectors face at present.

“This Budget does not address welfare issues faced by students of rural and suburban low income families,” said Ceylon Teachers’ Union President, Joseph Stalin.

“The 2013 Budget promised uniforms, shoes and a glass of milk for students of low income backgrounds. The Education Minister in his Budget speech also confirmed this. Yet, steps were not taken to implement these promises, while Budget 2014 also takes no note of this fact,” he said.

He said the 2014 budget proposal also fails to consider the plight of the teachers.

“There was no consideration for teachers and principals in the Budget proposal. Many of these teachers need to receive proper salaries, and there was also the salary arrears that have been ignored,” he said.

Federation of University Teachers Association (FUTA) President Dr Nirmal Dewasiri said, “After spending almost Rs 14 billion on CHOGM 2013, they grant public sector workers a Rs. 1,200 salary incre- ment and a 5 per cent salary increase for University teachers.”

Health Union Alliance President Saman Ratnapriya described the Rs 117 billion allocation as not being sufficient to maintain the Health sector.“Rs 98 billion was allocated for the Health sector last year, and we did not receive that money properly either. Rs 18,000 million was allocated for drugs and surgical equipment last year, however, there was a drug shortage in August,” he said.

He said this will result in patients being asked to buy medicines from private pharmacies and laboratories having to incur great expenses.

“If the Health sector is to function properly, a minimum of Rs 150 billion needs to be allocated with this Budget,” Mr Ratnapriya said.

Joint Plantation Trade Union President S. Ramanathan described the Budget as both welcoming as well as disappointing.

“We welcome the move to provide housing to 50,000 plantation families. However, these houses are to be built as flats. Flats are not suitable for plantation workers. Therefore, we urge this proposal to be reconsidered and single houses built for these people,” he said.

He said the three State plantation corporations are in dire straits and need immediate attention.

”We hope that these matters will be considered during the debates that will follow”, he said.