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PAYE tax slapped on MPs, reimbursed!

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While all income earners in the country are subjected to the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) tax from a tax threshold of Rs 100,000, it is revealed that parliamentarians have enjoyed a tax relief.

Although a MP has been slapped with a PAYE tax of Rs. 72,000 – Rs. 75,000 in January this year, the amount has been drastically slashed to Rs. 15,000 in February.

Also, it is singular that out of the PAYE taxe imposed in January, a sum of Rs. 55,000 has been reimbursed to them in March.

Although it is stated that a Member of Parliament gets Rs.54,000, they are granted several allowances.

These allowances include Rs.50,000 as telephone allowance, Rs.100,000 for maintaining an office, Rs.170,000 as fuel allowance, Rs. 15,000 as transport allowance, Rs. 1,000 as entertainment allowance and Rs.2,500 for each sitting attended.

Accordingly, the income (inclusive of all allowances) of a Parliamentarian is around Rs. 450,000. However, this may slightly vary according to the number of parliamentary sessions attended by the respective MP.

It is also singular that two allowances are granted with regard to transportation (transport and fuel).

They are also granted lunch at Parliament for Rs. 400.

The PAYE tax with its threshold of Rs. 100,000 has led to public uproar and a string of protests. However, the MPs who had passed the very taxation system, had silently amended their own taxes while the public continued to struggle amid high taxes and skyrocketing Cost of Life.

Although much of the protests held in this regard are organised by trade unions affiliated to the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, the 03 JVPs as well as other opposition MPs too had remained silent so far.

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Request to cancel Chamara Sampath’s bail, rejected

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The Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court today (May 16) rejected a request by the  Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) to cancel the bail granted to Badulla District MP Chamara Sampath Dassanayake and remand him again over alleged financial misconduct during his tenure as a member of the Uva Provincial Council in 2016.

Chief Magistrate Thanuja Lakmali delivered the decision after considering arguments presented by both parties.

In a motion filed before the court, the CIABOC alleged that the MP had interfered with ongoing investigations through his wife by prompting former President Ranil Wickremesinghe to hold a press conference. 

During this briefing, Wickremesinghe reportedly made inaccurate statements related to the case, portraying the MP’s actions as permissible.
However, President’s Counsel Kalinga Indatissa, representing Dassanayake, denied any interference or misconduct, arguing there was no evidence of witness tampering. The Commission also acknowledged that the former President is not listed as a witness in the case.

MP Dassanayake was initially granted bail on April 08 over the same incident.

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DMT stops issuing number plates over supply shortage

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The Department of Motor Traffic has notified owners of newly registered vehicles that the issuance of number plates has been temporarily suspended, effective April 28, due to a supply shortage.

In an official communication, the department acknowledged that although number plates are a mandatory component of vehicle registration, ongoing supply issues have made it impossible to fulfill this requirement at present.

As a result, both number plates and corresponding stickers for newly registered vehicles will not be issued until further notice.

The Department has assured vehicle owners that distribution will resume as soon as the supply is restored.

(dailynews.lk)

(Except for the headline, this story, originally published by dailynews.lk has not been edited by SLM staff)

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CIABOC refutes Ranil’s claim

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The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) today (May 16) informed the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court that a recent statement by former President Ranil Wickremesinghe regarding a treasury circular was factually inaccurate.

The Magistrate was also informed that the statement may have interfered with an ongoing bribery investigation involving Badulla District MP Chamara Sampath Dassanayake.

Wickremesinghe, speaking at a special media briefing, had stated that a circular issued in 2015 – during his tenure as Prime Minister – allowed provincial councils to withdraw fixed deposit funds prior to maturity.

However, the CIABOC has clarified that the circular in question was actually issued on November 22, 2016, whereas Dassanayake had withdrawn the funds much earlier, on February 29, 2016.

The Commission also disclosed that Mr. Wickremesinghe’s statement was made at the request of Dassanayake’s wife and that the accuracy of the circular’s date had not been verified before the public statement.

Dassanayake, who appeared in court today, is accused of causing a financial loss of over Rs. 17.6 million to the government by prematurely withdrawing fixed deposit funds belonging to the Uva Provincial Council during his time as Chief Minister.

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