January 29, 2015, 10:15 pm
by Saman Indrajith
Rs 1 bn levy on the casino industry A Rs. 1,000 million levy will be imposed immediately on all the casino operators. The payment will have to be paid before 15 April 2015 as a one off special levy.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday told Parliament that the government had decided to withdraw the permission given by the previous regime to maintain casinos in luxury hotel complexes set up under the Strategic Development Project Act.
Making a special statement in Parliament, the prime minister said that the 100-day programme was a huge challenge before the incumbent government. "We will strive day and night to make this a success. In the meantime, there are some who criticise and try to find mistakes in this programme. Some others may complain that we cannot implement certain pledges on the exact days that had been outlined in the programme. Yes, there are delays of one or two days in implementing certain promises. I ask those who criticise us not to worry of such delays but to see and check whether we have correctly implemented what we have promised."
"This is a new journey. We have no such previous experience. As the President pointed out in Polonnaruwa recently, we have to get ready for sacrifices. We’ll have to face shortages, but that is for the benefit of the country and I ask people to bear with us because we make these sacrifices today for a better future.
"We have already commenced to remove the remnants of nepotism and dictatorship.
"We will bring about a system of government where the powers centred in the hands of one person will be transferred to the Cabinet and parliament. We are being supported and assisted by constitutional experts and veteran politicians.
"As the Leader of the Opposition I travelled to all the villages and cities of this country and listened to the voice of the people. They had been suffering and they expressed their grievances which we aired in this august assembly. But, none paid any heed to their calls.
"Morals and discipline have deteriorated in this society. The economy was dependent on casinos, ethanol and heroin. It was handled by a handful of friends of a single family. It was an economy that filled the pockets of their henchmen. They took covered behind a facade of patriotism.
"We will change this situation soon. Last night the Cabinet of Ministers decided to ban casinos from luxury resorts constructed under the provisions of the Strategic Development Projects Act. We will release a gazette amending a previous one which permitted the Lake Leisure Private Ltd, Water Front Properties Pvt Ltd and the Queensbury Leisure companies to set up casinos".
From : The Island : http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=118584
