Parliament delays tax hike bill vote for second day
Four MPs spoke on the report in Tuesday's sitting.
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Parliament has for a second day ended its sitting without voting on the tax hike bill.
The report of the parliamentary committee of the whole house to increase GST and T-GST from next year as proposed by the government was initially on the agenda for Monday’s session. MDP members supporting the government were not satisfied when they did not get to vote as per the rules and because the quorum was not met. Following this, members staged a protest on the floor of the parliament.
After the committee's report was tabled in the parliament, deputy speaker Eva Abdulla who was presiding over the sitting said that the tax hike bill will be debated only after preliminary discussions on other bills are completed.
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Vilufushi MP Hassan Afeef presided over the preliminary debates
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Since none of the members wanted to speak on the report, Afeef, without giving any more time, went ahead with the voting process
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Not voted as per rules; the bell is rung to allow members outside the parliament floor to participate in the voting
In Monday's sitting, there was no member to speak on the committee report. However, four MPs spoke on the report in Tuesday's sitting.
The vote was scheduled for 1pm Tuesday. As the sitting resumed after break, pro-government lawmakers and opposition members gathered at the chair table.
Speaker Mohamed Nasheed, who was presiding over the sitting, called a vote only on the motion moved by MNP president and Dhangethi MP Mohamed Nazim on the Chagos dispute.
After the vote was taken, Nasheed concluded the sitting. He did not give any reason for not voting on the tax hike bill.
