State Minister of Finance Ajith Nivard Cabraal has stated that Rs. 70 billion has been spent to control the corona epidemic and provide relief to the people. However, he does not say anything about the tax relief extortion of nearly Rs. 60 billion given by the government to large scale income earners in the country.
Speaking to the government’s ‘Dinamina’ newspaper today (30th), Minister of State Cabraal has further stated that the people should be sincerely happy that the government, despite spending a lot of money on relief for the people, has not acted to reduce the salaries of public servants or cut their allowances.
The trade unions point out that the Minister of State’s statement is a serious warning to public servants and the general public. The unions point out that it implies an unprecedented burden on public servants and the general public from the 2022 budget proposals prepared by Basil Rajapaksa.
The government, which lost nearly Rs. 60 billion in government revenue in 2020 alone by cutting taxes on large businessmen and high-income earners without any request being made, presenting such economic data is a move to mislead the masses, they point out.
