What has Tax Department done about Swiss accounts?

More than two years have now gone since our major newspapers exposed Sri Lankan citizens secretly having Swiss and Cayman Island bank accounts. Some of them had both husband and wife as separate account holders to dodge taxes even in those countries.

Most of these Sri Lankans have lived in Sri Lanka all their lives and do business only here. But how did they end up having such large accounts overseas? Are these monies proceeds of crime, illegal commissions or money smuggled out against our Exchange Control Regulations? It is also noteworthy that a majority of these account holder are recent citizens of this country and may even be dual citizens.

Now in most countries, where ever you earn money you must declare that in your tax returns in the home country.

Our Inland Revenue Department is either sleeping or are not capable of investigating complex across border crimes like this.

In either case, the Tax Department is letting down the country and the law-abiding taxpayers.

R.C. Ruberu