- Siyambalapitiya says no plans to increase current rates further
Sri Lanka is expecting to introduce more proposals to widen its tax base to increase state revenue through budget 2024 as the Government intends to implement 65% of the strategies proposed by the committee appointed to recommend revenue-generating strategies by the end of 2023, State Minister of Finance, Ranjith Siyambalapitiya said.
Speaking to TV Derana on Friday (08), the State minister said that 25% of the strategies presented to the President to widen the tax base and increase state revenue will be implemented through the issuance of circulars in October while 40% will be implemented through the upcoming Budget 2024.
He said that the remaining measures mentioned in the strategy report, which was presented to President Ranil Wickremesinghe in July, will be implemented as the overall economy starts going forward as those require amending specific acts related to other cabinet ministries.
“We don't expect, under any circumstance, to raise the current tax rates further,” he said.
Moreover, he added that once the required revenue figures are optimised through the widening of the tax base, the Government will provide relief to the taxpayers and will spend more on welfare and development in order to raise the quality of the life of Sri Lankans.
In June, the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) issued a gazette notification requiring doctors, lawyers and vehicle owners to open an income tax account while anyone over 18 years is required to open a tax file from 2024 January 1 onwards.
According to IRD, the total number of registered taxpayers will be reduced to 437,547 by the end of 2022 from 507,095 in 2021.
Due to the tax cuts of 2019, Sri Lanka’s income tax base was reduced from 1.5 million at the end of 2019 to 507,095 by the end of 2021.