23,000 officials to lose duty-free car permits in 2027 — finally fair?

Colombo has told the IMF it will scrap the duty-free vehicle permit scheme for public officials in the 2027 Budget. Around 23,000 eligible officials — doctors, university professors, senior public servants and others — have had permits suspended since January 2025, and Treasury estimates fully cancelling the scheme could save close to 0.6% of GDP that would otherwise be lost in forgone duty. One side says this is overdue: ordinary buyers already pay full duty plus a 50% surcharge, so there was never a good reason for officials to get a near tax-free car on the state's account while everyone else struggles with financing. The other side says the permit was effectively part of the pay package for professions the state can't afford to lose to migration, and yanking it now, after two years of suspension, just pushes more doctors and academics to leave. Should this scheme be killed off completely, or does some trimmed-down version make sense for specific professions? මේ වාහන බලපත්‍ර නැවැත්වීම හරිද? ඔබේ අදහස පහතින් කියන්න.