3 August 2018 02:13 am
AMS President Dr. Sunil Wijayasinghe told Daily Mirror that the AMS along with other medical specialist groups had decided to refrain from private practice and added this decision was reached after months of failed negotiations with relevant parties.
“Contrary to Finance Minister’s repeated claims about the need for more taxes from everybody, the treasury has moved to announce changes in the new Tax Act to give major tax relief to Ministers and higher officials of the government,” Dr. Wijayasinghe said.
However, he said recent Tax Act had doubled the tax on doctors by increasing the tax from 12% to 24%, whereas the Finance Ministry had reduced their own taxes and added the government had not announced any effective immediate method of widening the tax net causing them unfairness.
“The AMS have requested all its members to attend in the normal duty in the hospital today and refrain from private practice. All relevant specialists will attend emergencies in private hospitals considering patient safety,” Dr. Wijayasinghe added.
He reiterated that this was a protest by medical specialists of this country, who had exhausted all other means available to them to solve this problem. (Sheain Fernandopulle)