Creator: KABS Kanu
Each time a authorities minister or ambassador travels, he receives a each day stipend of $500. When the president and his spouse journey, they gather about $1,000 in DSA day by day. Could not these each day allowances be minimize to alleviate authorities monetary shortfalls, as a substitute of imposing a 5% tax on rice and gas and all items and iron rods? Why do poor individuals at all times bear the brunt of this administration’s profligacy?
These are among the questions the individuals of Sierra Leone have been asking ever since President Maada Bio’s Sierra Leone Folks’s Celebration (SLPP) authorities imposed a 5% tax on rice, the nation’s staple meals.
What might be extra callous and insensitive to our already struggling individuals? Taxes on rice, our staple meals, gas and iron rods? At a time when meals and different fundamental commodity costs are already spiraling uncontrolled on this nation?
The PPP authorities is totally conscious of the knock-on results of sharp rise in gas costs, esp. Gasoline costs management different market forces. When gas costs rise, it causes the costs of different client items to observe. To impose such a tax on gas could be handy poison hemlock to a person who’s already ravenous.
Creatures are merciless and insensitive to the struggling of individuals
The PPP authorities is in need of money. President Bio’s stubbornness and impulsiveness in stealing the election angered donor companions in opposition to his authorities and himself, and funds didn’t circulation in as earlier than. Even the $20 million mortgage accredited by the Worldwide Financial Fund isn’t sufficient to resolve all of the financial and associated issues attributable to this administration. In consequence, the PPP authorities has thus far been unable to pay salaries on time and public sector staff are operating out of money to feed their households and meet different obligations. The federal government lately carried out the Finance Invoice 2024 and associated taxes to handle the income shortfall.
Nevertheless, solely a callous authorities would impose such a tax on a fundamental commodity at a time like this. The BJP authorities might have gone the opposite method if it had acted prudently and cared concerning the individuals. Among the finest methods the federal government can do that is by slicing profligate spending on the salaries, emoluments and privileges of ministers, ambassadors and different privileges. Regardless of all these money circulation challenges, Maada Bio continues to make appointments, most of that are redundant, pointless and duplicative. The federal government can even merge ministries and scale back the variety of ministers. As a substitute of taking these measures, Bio selected to burden the individuals much more. Why do poor individuals at all times bear the brunt of the implications of this administration’s financial incompetence and chaos?
Bio now has the braveness and ruthlessness to impose a 5% tax on the nation’s staple meals, rice and gasoline, quickly a bag of rice in Sierra Leone will price 1 million leones whereas the usual wage for a senior citizen in Sierra Leone is 500,000 leones for a servant and for an unusual citizen Hardly 100 thousand per thirty days. Bio expects how our individuals will eat, pay lease and different utilities, and ship their kids to high school
I’ve at all times stated that once I was working within the United Nations Particular Peacebuilding Configuration in Sierra Leone, we engaged with the federal government on all of the components that might trigger peacebuilding and its consolidation to slide and lead the nation again into battle. One of many components is the federal government’s insensitivity to the struggling of its individuals. The Bio authorities was not topic to those constraints as was the Ernest Koroma authorities. That is why he does what he loves.
From a diplomatic perspective, challenges to constructing and consolidating peace in Sierra Leone are corruption, insensitivity to the struggling of the individuals, impunity, mismanagement of pure sources, lack of fundamental social providers, youth unemployment, weak fiscal insurance policies, injustice, electoral manipulation, political Extremism, inequality, tribalism and regionalism and so forth. won’t be tolerated. All these errors have been additionally addressed by the Reality and Reconciliation Fee (TRC) however the Bio Folks’s Celebration authorities is repeating them with none thought and with impunity. to the implications. That’s why worldwide stakeholders are so busy proper now attempting to assist this president keep away from these errors. However Bio was too cussed and solely listened to himself.
The tax on rice is simply one other instance of the PPP authorities’s callousness and insensitivity to the struggling of the individuals.
*BETTS firm briefing on the Finance Act 2024*
On November 9, 2024, Parliament accredited the Finance Invoice, 2024, which accommodates numerous fiscal provisions to boost income mobilization.
The essential provisions of the Finance Invoice 2024 are:
1. A 5% import tariff can be imposed on rice in 2024, rising to 10% in 2025.
2. Improve different import duties on cement (20%), cooking gasoline (5%) and iron rods (10%).
3. The minimal various tax (MAT) fee is decreased from 3% to 2% and is simply relevant to loss-making firms.
4. Revenue from digital services and products obtained by firms similar to Google, Meta and Amazon from Sierra Leone shoppers is taxable in Sierra Leone.
5. A number of withholding tax charges on dividends, administration charges, skilled charges, and lottery winnings are adjusted to fifteen%
6. Introducing a 1% training tax, growing the withholding tax fee for resident contractors from 5.5% to six.5%, and growing the withholding tax fee for non-resident contractors from 10.5% to 11.5%.
7. Unify consumption tax charges for home and imported industries (besides beer and stout).
8. Assortment of consumption tax on plastic merchandise.
9. A ten% consumption tax is imposed on playing, betting and lotteries.
10. Stamp responsibility on property and different transactions is adjusted at numerous charges.
11. The edge for registration of products and providers tax is elevated from 100,000 SLE to 500,000 SLE.
12. Reintroduction of GST exemption for plant and equipment in agriculture, manufacturing, mining and petroleum sectors.
13. Implement tax exemptions on plant and equipment for sure parts of producing.
14. The demurrage date is adjusted from weekdays to authorized working days.
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