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| Sunday, 19 January 2003 |
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Give tax benefits for sports sponsorship and country will gain - Caltex boss requests Govt. by A. C. DE SILVA Caltex Managing Director Kishu Gomes was a happy man the other day - January 14 to be exact, at the Second Caltex-Observer touchdown Rugby Awards ceremony at the Sapphire Ballroom of Hotel Ceylon Continental. It was the second such ceremony that Gomes was attending in the company of ANCL Chairman Nalin Ladduwahetty and the two seemed to hit-it-off well, as at the tail end of the well-planned ceremony, they both vouched to keep the partnership going in the coming years too. Speaking at the function, Gomes said: "The partnership we entered into with the SLRFU and ANCL has paid us very good dividends and would like to take this opportunity to thank the two parties formally with much gratitude." Speaking about the broader perspective of sponsorship, the Caltex boss said that he was keen to elevate the level of performance in all sports in Sri Lanka. There are many people who criticise the SLRFU and say that the standard of rugby football has gone down, but the people should get-together and bring rugby football to a high level. It is easy to criticise, but what the people fail to realise is what the Union, clubs and players are capable of producing, with the resources available to them. More money has to be pumped into the sport. It is rather sad, that in this country people do not really understand the co-relation between sports and the economy. In the good old days, many spoke about sports as being the activity to maintain a healthy and an active nation. Since then, the horizons of sports have gone well beyond that and apart from cricket, there are not many companies that spend on other sports. More sponsors are needed. Today, sports is used aggressively worldwide to bring peace which is the crying need of most countries in the world. In Sri Lanka sports is used to develop the country's economy as well. This shows that sports, while it has a social value, has a commercial value as well. When business organisations evaluate different sports for sponsorship, they go by a criteria which covers two aspects - social value and commercial value. As for business organisations in Sri Lanka, there is no difference between sports sponsorships and any other form of promotion or advertising. In the Profit and Loss account, the amount spent on sponsorships and advertising go as an expenditure. Therefore, there is no reason why the companies should give preference to sports sponsorships over the other mediums of promotional activities. However, Kishu Gomes said: "We at Caltex give preference to sports sponsorships. For the country, it makes a big difference. More money behind sports sponsorship help the country's sportsmen to keep Sri Lanka's flag flying around the globe." Excelling in international sports, also helps to boost the country's economy and this in turn will give a better life to all Sri Lankans and that was the co-relation that he was talking about Gomes said. He said that the time was right to request the Government and respective organisations to try and bring tax legislations required to give tax benefits for sponsorships to encourage business organisations to invest more money behind sports. Caltex MD Kishu Gomes expressed his gratitude to Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited for helping Caltex in conducting this competition for two years which has helped elevate the level of exposure for the game of rugby football in Sri Lanka. He also thanked the officials of the Sri Lanka Rugby Football Union for conducting the tournaments and hopes that Sri Lanka rugby will bring glory to the country. Award winners Most Popular Ruggerite: (Rs. 50,000 plus a Trophy): Corporal T.A. Silva (Army Sports Club). Most Popular Rugby Club: (Rs. 50,000 plus a trophy): Army Sports Club Best Ruggerites of the Tournament: (Rs. 25,000 plus a trophy): Harris Omar (Kandy Sports Club). Best Rugby Club of the Tournament: (Rs. 25,000 plus a trophy): Kandy Sports Club. Best Captain: (Rs. 25,000 plus a trophy): Asanga Rodrigo (CR and FC). Best Forward (Rs. 25,000 plus a trophy): Savantha de Saram (CR and FC). Best Three-Quarter: (Rs. 25,000 plus a trophy): Radeeka Hettiarachchi (Kandy Sports Club) |
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