Former Secretary to the Ministry of Finance Sajith Attygalle says it is unreasonable to claim that the country lost nearly Rs. 500 billion due to the tax revisions implemented by the new government in 2019.
Attygalle attributed the present economic crisis to the restrictions imposed on imports, including the suspension of vehicles imports, and the contraction caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The former Finance Secretary made these statements at a meeting of the Committee on Public Finance.
The Meeting was attended by Former Secretary to the President Dr. PB Jayasundara, former Governor of the Central Bank Ajith Nivard Cabraal, former members of the Monetary Board, current Governor of the Central Bank Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe and other senior officials of the Central Bank.
The Governor of the Central Bank, Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe said that responsible government officials should refrain from engaging in politics.
He further noted certain decisions taken by politicians may not always be correct.
He emphasized that it was the responsibility and duty of such officials to point out incorrect decisions taken by the politicians adding politicians alone should not be held responsible for the consequences of such decisions.
Governor Weerasinghe further stated the country’s economy did not move in the right direction for two years and that he was not aware of it until the country’s economy collapsed.
He added it was not acceptable to state policies were implemented based solely on the decisions of the political authorities.
Parliamentarians who were members of the committee said that although they alerted officials and political authorities on various occasions about the possible effects of these policies, no action had been taken in that regard.
