Vicious cycle of taxation View(s):Last week, the Sunday Times Business reported that SriLankan Airlines received Rs. Governments, represented by politicians and bureaucrats, allocate tax money without the same discipline that individuals apply when spending their own money. This perpetuates a vicious debt cycle. To ease this hardship by reducing poverty, governments then introduce social protection programmes—cash transfers, food subsidies, housing support. Worse still, when governments tax essentials and restrict imports under the banner of “supporting local production”, they often create monopolies.

Source: Sunday Times February 22, 2026 01:48 UTC