* 68 % duty on common man’s 90 cc motorcycle, reduced by only 5%

* Mercedeze Benz tax reduction can finance 125,000 kilos of ‘Salmon’

While tax on the common man’s 90 cc motor cycle has been reduced by a negligible 5 per cent, a Mercedeze Benz now costs Rs.10 million less, the UNP said yesterday.

National List UNP MP, Harsha de Silva, addressing a news conference in Colombo, said that the government, by introducing a new tax structure on vehicle imports, had done what he called a "Darasiel – the opposite of Saradiel."

He said that ‘Saradiel’ had robbed the rich to pay the poor, but the Mahinda Rajapaksa regime was doing the converse, robbing the poor to fatten the rich.

"Using a peculiar computation, the government adjusted the 68 per cent tax on 90 cc motor cycles and then added a 25 per cent excise duty on it. The end result, was that the tax remained at 68%. After we protested in Parliament, the duty was reduced by 5 per cent. However, considering the complex manner in which businessman operate, the question is whether consumers would enjoy the 5 per cent reduction."

Essential food items were also being taxed heavily and a case in point was the Rs. 85 per cent tax on a kilogram of ‘Mackerel’, commonly referred to in Sri Lanka as ‘Salmon’. The quantum of the tax reduction on a Mercedeze Benz could be used to purchase 125,000 kilograms or 250,000 tins of ‘Salmon,’ which can be consumed by a million people, de Silva said.

He said that rising prices of essential food items has resulted in the masses resorting to cheaper and less nutritious alternatives.

Recent UNICEF and WFP reports state that malnutrition among adolescent boys and girls in Sri Lanka, has increased by 32 per cent and 27 per cent respectively, de Silva said.