Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has proposed to amend a number of financial acts to increase the revenue of the government.
Accordingly, Prime Minister Wickremesinghe has proposed to amend the Inland Revenue Act, No. 24 of 2017, Value Added Tax Act, No. 14 of 2002, Telecommunication Levy Act, No. 21 of 2011, Betting & Gaming Levy Act, No.40 of 1988 and the Fiscal Management Act, No. 3 of 2003.
The revenue of the government reduced considerably, after the administration which came to power in 2019 decided to introduce a relaxed tax policy by reducing the VAT rates, personal income tax, corporate income tax and to shrink the tax base on VAT and income tax.
As a result, the government’s revenue dropped significantly. In order to rectify the issue, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in his capacity as the Minister of Finance, Economic Stabilization, and National Policies has proposed to amend the five financial Acts.
The Cabinet of Ministers has accordingly granted approval to the proposal presented by the Prime Minister to instruct the legal Draftsman to prepare the necessary bills to amend the Acts in order to increase the revenue of the government.
