The Wise Bird loves reading and so he reads almost all the newspapers of the day and even other books, and he listens to news on radio and he always watches Television (TV). Many a time he goes to social media to be better acquainted himself with the issues of the day.

As the bird was going through the papers and other documents, he saw a document called the Finance Act of 2024 which was signed into law by President Dr. Julius Maada Bio on Monday October 20, 2024.

According to the Act, the most disturbing thing found in it is the new tax pronounced on essential goods and the documented bill was approved by Members of Parliament in December 2023.

The Act however, introduces several new tax measures aimed at boosting government revenue base but by implication it is said to increase the hardship on people.

The most controversial provision in the Act is the 5% import duty tax made on rice. This means charge per rice will increase to a 10% come 2025 to the disadvantage of the masses.

In addition to what the bird saw, the Act also imposes a 20% tax on cement, 5% on cooking gas, 10% on Iron rods, and the Act did not stop at that but  it also made a 10% tax increase on gambling betting and lotteries, with a 1% on education purposes levied on companies for duty imports.

Furthermore, according to the Act, excise duties have been introduced on plastic products, while withholding taxes on dividends, management fees, and that lottery winning have been raised to 15%.

The bird is just thinking aloud that at a time like this when a bag of rice is approximately ranging between NLe 1,020.00 and NLe1, 250.00, what is the fate of the poor man in Sierra Leone.

The question the brave bird would like to ask is how many people will afford to buy a bag of rice when an additional increase will take effect come 2025. Who knows how much a bag of rice will cost at that time?

In order to make mucky of the situation, the Act provides certain reliefs as it is said in the Act, which is to reduce Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) for less-making companies in order to ease the burden on ordinary citizens.

It is no secret that the increase has not taken effect yet but already, at the moment, essential goods in the country are higher than the sky above us. How much more will they be sold when additional increases would come into effect next year. The people will continue to suffer more than before.

As usual the bird did not know it all and so he always wants to get the views of the people who are in the majority and well-grounded with the issues.

All those the bird came in contact with expressed dismay over the action of President Bio to have understandably signed the Finance Act into Law knowing fully well the kind of suffering the people are undergoing presently in the country.

Other Sierra Leoneans have described Members of Parliament and President Bio as heartless.

These Sierra Leoneans are calling on the President to re-think his decision by way of reversing it.