• Tax on TV programmes

• Ban on private medical practice

• Withholding tax on interest of Fixed Deposits

• Is it a punitive levy?
  
  
  Tax on TV programmes

The Government has made a correct decision in imposing a tax on selected foreign programmes in order to allow for cultural diversity and to protect the multi-cultural nature of Sri Lankan culture.

The Government of Sri Lanka is a signatory to the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expression (October 20, 2005). Article 5 states that Governments have a 'sovereign right to formulate and implement their cultural policies and to adopt measures to protect and promote the diversity of cultural expression....'

Article 6 lists several measures which could be adopted to protect and promote diversity of cultural expression.

These measures include:

a) regulatory measures aimed at protecting and promoting diversity of cultural expression,

b) measures that, in an appropriate manner, provide opportunities for domestic cultural activities, goods and services....(Details are available in the UNESCO website).

The Guardian on October 19, 2005 reported on this Franco-Canadian initiative which "could mean that countries will be able to subsidies domestic film industries and restrict foreign music and content on their radio and television stations in the name of preserving and promoting cultural diversity". (Global plan to protect film culture, by Jon Henley).

The action taken by the Sri Lankan Government is being shown by some sections of the media as a move against individual fundamental rights.

This is an absurd allegation. If so, exports from third world countries which are unfairly taxed by the developed countries (e.g. garments or tea) should be considered as attacks on fundamental rights of the citizens of the latter!

K. AMARASIRI, via email

Ban on private medical practice

Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva has gone on record as saying that Doctors' private practice will be banned in three years time.

In a way there is some justification for this in view of the complete abuse of Channelled Consultation by doctors. The arrogance, lack of sympathy to patients, rudeness, late attendance, lack of time spent on patients etc., are some of the reasons.

These specialists seem to conveniently forget that they were educated free from kindergarden to Medical School. In addition the State pays for their specialization abroad for 2 or 3 years. Here too, some abuse this privilege by going 'missing' and not returning after obtaining higher degrees.

Today's Channelled Consultation has become more of a business where certain Specialists see about 25 patients in a certain Medical Centre. He then rushes to another centre where again he sees about 10 patients. There again he rushes to some other Centre.

So where is the time he could devote on a patient and arrive at a diagnosis. It all boils down to 'More patients - More money' and to hell with the patient.

Isn't there a moral obligation on a Doctor (having taken 'Hippocratic Oath' to spend some time with a patient and elicit all information to help in arriving at the diagnosis. After all the patient has already paid for this consultation.

Another abuse by these specialists is the irritating wait for the doctor's arrival. Sometimes these poor patients spend hours in waiting time during which they are irritated and angry and when the Doctor examines the patient, his blood pressure is higher than normal.

Is this anxiety factor taken into account? So what happens? You are treated for an ailment that you do not suffer from. The Specialist makes his money and you lose your money paying for unnecessary drugs.

Money is the guiding factor of nearly 95 per cent of these specialists. Even so do they pay the correct taxes. It is a debatable point. It would do well for the Dept. of Inland Revenue to check on their 'ill-earned' wealth at the expense of poor patients.

The other side of the coin is where the Hospital Ward patients are concerned. How many Specialists give their time in examining as many patients as possible in their Wards? Very few.

Most of them come into the Wards quite late in the morning, examine a small number of patients and then leave the Ward by 11.00 or 11.30 a.m. Some rush for their 'Private Practice'.

As a famous past President of the Sri Lanka Medical Association said. "Today Medicine focuses on investigations and interventions, drugs and surgery, microbes and molecules, germs and genes. We have forgotten compassion and care towards our patients".

Let us all hope that in view of the above factors, the medical Specialists will jointly pull themselves up and become a shining example to the medical profession.

VERNIE, Dehiwala.

Withholding tax on interest of Fixed Deposits

I write this letter in order to bring to the notice of the Minister of Finance and the Commissioner of Inland Revenue a great injustice caused to retirees of Government Corporations and Boards which do not have pension schemes to cover their employees.

In this regard I would like to present my case as a typical example. I worked for the Sri Lanka Transport Board and the Mahaweli Authority of Sri Lanka for over 32 years. Before retirement, I was drawing a monthly salary of around Rs. 30,000 as an Accountant.

On retirement, I was able to muster a little over Rs. 1 million inclusive of my EPF, ETF and Gratuity which I invested in Finance Companies to collect interest on a monthly basis. The monthly interest amounts to a little over Rs. 12,000. Apart from the house we live in, I have no other assets or income.

The finance company where I have my fixed deposits has informed me that they would be recovering 10 per cent of my monthly interest as Withholding Tax on the instructions of the Commissioner of Inland Revenue since my monthly Interest earnings are over Rs. 9,000.

This could hardly be called reasonable or justifiable since all citizens are entitled to a tax free income of Rs. 25,000 a month. I feel that this ruling affects the human rights of people in my situation, particularly the ex-employees of government organisations which are not covered by pension schemes.

The situation becomes most unfair since most of these unfortunate people are in the last lapses of their lives suffering from ailments like diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and arthritis which call for expensive medical treatments. The situation calls for an urgent remedy.

K. M. GUNARATNE, Moratuwa.

Is it a punitive levy?

Some private media companies certainly have their one-man theory on handling the electronic media with the aim of profit making, spreading their owners' idealistic aim of brainwashing towards their secret political agendas.

This factor was clearly highlighted in the joint press conference held recently with the gathering of highly paid directors of private media companies with an aim to provoke meagre business minded viewers of this country.

Now what is the truth?

Are readers aware what a Rate card is in an electronic media company? It is the chart that shows their charge for advertisements.

Example:

for 30 second ...... Rs: 75000

for 1 minute ...... Rs: 140000

This is how they sell the airtime to collect money on their TV or Radio channels.

These media companies allocate funds for their depreciated capital on program production (eg. Every time they use their machines on program production they add a production cost to their own machine and that cost is added to the production, cost of every budget sheet where at the end of a financial year, the collection goes as Owner's share or to the owner's pocket without a tax).

Do you know though the channel frequencies belong to the people, the electronic media companies can sell their one channel per day to earn on this formula-sec60* min60*hours24@the rate per second on their own rates where there is no price control by the Government.

Non media taxpayers' companies get together with the electronic media companies and spend on publicity, avoiding huge levies and enjoy high salaries as easy money on the floating agendas.

They organise mega promotion events with the participation of the younger generation and the poor communities where people do not understand the cash inflow tactics as events are colourful.

Can someone or the Government correctly calculate on the sold airtime/repeated ad airtime/promotion airtime /politically used or used on the basis of owners' friendship airtime?

If there are friends in authority, taking ads from places like (Telecom/Lotteries Board) are easy for electronic media companies, and at election times media company owners play free advertising campaigns on their channels to support friendly politicians.

This system harms the people's choice on electing politicians, and is it correct to do image building on company owners' choice on elections and referendums using the frequencies belonging to the public?

When considering the above scenarios of the private electronic media companies one cannot argue the newly introduced taxes are wrong.

So as expressed by the company directors and representatives at their recently held media conference, the new tax affects their business. Yes it has to, because the channel frequencies still belong to the people.

PRIYANTHA DANDENIYA, Colombo 7.