Cabinet nod for new taxes

• PM presents Cabinet paper to gazette tax changes proposed in 2019 and latest Budget
• Inland Revenue and Value Added Tax legislation to be changed accordingly 
• Govt. aims to provide tax clarity ahead of new tax year start in April 

By Uditha Jayasinghe 

Mahinda Rajapaksa

Cabinet has given approval for a slew of tax changes introduced in 2019 and also proposed in Budget 2021 to be implemented ahead of the commencement of the new tax year, a top official said yesterday. 

Cabinet Spokesman Minister Keheliya Rambukwella told the weekly Cabinet briefing that Cabinet on Monday had approved necessary changes to the Inland Revenue Act No. 24 of 2017 and the Value Added Tax No. 14 of 2002 in order to implement tax reforms introduced by the Government shortly after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa was elected in November 2019 and tax changes proposed in Budget 2021. 

“Approval has been given by the Attorney General to these amendments. The Cabinet approved the paper presented by Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa as the Finance Minister to publish the necessary regulations as a gazette and submit the same to parliament,” he said.

Last month Treasury Secretary S.R. Attygalle told reporters that the Finance Ministry was working to legislate tax changes before the new tax year kicks off at the start of April. These include income and corporate tax changes, plus a new goods and services tax proposed in Budget 2021. 

Legislation was also formulated to charge 1% tax on any previously undeclared foreign exchange brought into Sri Lanka, which was a proposal announced by Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa in Parliament during the Budget reading last November. 

At the time, he said legal provisions would be given to entrepreneurs to return such forex funds for investment in Sri Lanka and they would be liable to a tax of only 1%, which sparked protest from opposition parties that accused the Government of encouraging money laundering.

The Government has said the tax changes were aimed at simplifying Sri Lanka’s tax system so public revenue could be increased while establishing a stable policy environment for the private sector.