Amendment seeks to slash plastic bag tax to 50 laari
Saleem noted that the tax was introduced at the height of inflation; so, the people felt the burden of it heavily.
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By
Mariyam Umna Ismail
MDP MP from Hoarafushi constituency, Ahmed Saleem, on Tuesday proposed an amendment to the law to reduce the amount of tax charged for plastic bags from MVR 2 to 50 Laari.
Under Waste Management Act passed by parliament last November, a tax of MVR 2 per plastic bag has been charged since the last week of March. With the change, the price of bags sold in wholesale shops has increased many times over.
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MVR 2 per plastic bag issued or sold by each business activity resulted in consumers sometimes having to pay MVR 6 for a bag
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The tax on bundles containing 50 or more bags increases the price of bags
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The government sent a bill to parliament last March to address the issue, but the bill was placed on the agenda in April
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However, the parliament went into recess at the end of April without debating the bill
During the preliminary debate on the bill, Saleem, who is also the chairman of the environment committee of the parliament, proposed the issues raised under the Act and ways to resolve them. He said:
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As the law stands, taxes are mainly paid by the poorest and ordinary people
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The tax was introduced at the height of inflation; so, the people felt the burden of it heavily
Saleem proposed to resolve the issued caused by the law:
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Exemption of taxes on bags purchased for the purpose of packing fish and meat products and bin liners
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Introducing a uniform tax so that retail shops and cafes are not administratively burdened
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Reducing the tax for bags to 50 Laari per bag and revising the fee every year
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Abolishing the requirement of businesses to pay taxes twice; Saleem proposed that the fees paid by those who have registered for GST or businesses at the time of purchase of bags should be deducted from the fees charged at the time of sale of bags by them
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Conducting awareness campaigns on alternative to plastic packaging
