GMOA’s selfish and anti-people attitudes

Not a week passes without the Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) urging the Government to reduce rates on direct taxes. Secretary to the association, Dr. Haritha Aluthge often claims that doctors are leaving the country due to the high direct taxes that were imposed last year.

This argument holds no basis given that the doctors who are leaving seek residence in countries such as the UK, Canada, and the USA, the income tax rates of which are far higher than that of Sri Lanka. The debilitating economic crisis last year has caused a sense of discontentment among many educated professionals, which is compelling them to abandon their motherland and settle down in developed nations that offer a greater standard of living.

Most of the doctors in Sri Lanka were educated at State universities, and their education was financed by the taxpayers. Furthermore, their salaries are also funded by the general public. Free university education is a facility which is not available even in an OECD country like South Korea. Compared to other professionals in the public service, medical professionals are reasonably well remunerated, and it is surprising that it is only them who are making a disproportionate objection to the tax hikes, while other professionals are carrying out their duties as usual. 

As part of the agreement reached with the IMF, the Government is committed to raise the tax revenue in order to resolve Sri Lanka’s longstanding imbalances in public finance. Sri Lanka’s tax revenue – which was 7.3% of the GDP in 2022 – is one of the lowest in the world. Also, the island’s direct tax revenue as a share of tax revenue has always been in the range of 15 to 20% which is far below the recommended level.

Last week, the GMOA office bearers met the representatives of the NPP to air their grievances about the high taxes. It is ironic that a supposedly leftist political outfit like the NPP (which is dominated by the JVP activists) voiced their opposition against high direct tax rates for the benefit of financially well-off individuals like doctors. This approach by the NPP calls into question their willingness to undertake necessary but unpopular reforms to achieve economic stability.

The GMOA has a history of behaving in a manner which is detrimental to the interest of the country. Few years ago, when then Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and Dr. Harsha de Silva were trying to implement Suwasariya Ambulance Service, the GMOA stated that they would not accept the patients brought to hospitals by those ambulances. They were even ludicrous enough to link the highly beneficial initiative with an Indian invasion. People are aware that the GMOA had a very close relationship with the now extremely unpopular SLPP. The SLPP creator – Basil Rajapaksa once publicly proclaimed that the controversial trade union canvassed for slots in the SLPP’s national list.

The association also played a crucial role in the woes experienced by the citizens of this country over the last two years. Former President of the union – Dr. Anuruddha Padeniya was a key protagonist of the disastrous chemical fertiliser ban that was imposed by then President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. The ill-conceived move decimated crops around the country and pushed up food prices beyond the reach of the common man. The widely condemned action hastened the downfall of Gotabaya Rajapaksa and caused unnecessary problems to agriculture-dependent communities.

What does the GMOA intend to achieve by forcing the policymakers to take steps that would reduce the State revenue? Already, it has been informed that the second tranche of the IMF agreement would be delayed due to the shortfall of tax income. In such a backdrop, the GMOA should refrain from making extremely self-seeking demands in the context of the challenging times the nation is facing. Nevertheless, given their anti-people track record, it would not be a surprise if they do not change their narrow-minded approach.