(Lanka-e-News -20.March.2015, 5.00PM) With the new government coming into power on 8 th January, the ethanol business that was carried on illicitly with the direct involvement of four MPs who dodged the taxes payable on the business had ground to a halt , whereby the revenue of the Excise department that was previously deprived of its earnings because of these tax dodging ethanol racketeers , has risen by 120 % .
Finance minister Ravi Karunanayake while revealing this in parliament said , the increase in revenue thereby is Rs. 4 billion !
When answering a query raised by Anura Kumara Dissanayake JVP M.P. who expected an oral reply , the minister gave this answer. Accordingly , the four MPs under the Rajapakse at the expense of national interests have for a month via these sly deals collected Rs. 2 billion (Rs. 2000 million!) .
May we recall some time ago Lanka e news reported during the Rajapkse regime that an ethanol dealer from Matale , Vasantha an M.P. had told a friend of his that he comes to Mahinda Rajapkase’s house to pay Rs. 3 billion in cash every month. Mahinda Rajapakse who was the finance minister had allowed this dealer to evade the taxes and siphon those huge sums of money to himself.
Today , with the exposure made by the present finance minister , the cat is out of the bag. Ranil Wickremesinghe who challenged the opposition to repudiate the finance minister’s revelation if they can said , in future liquor licenses will not be issued to politicians , and imposing higher taxes on them is contemplated.
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by (2015-03-20 12:40:07)
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