Govt. plans to levy heavy penalties for tax defaulters in 2017

Wednesday, 5 October 2016 00:32 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Reuters : The government plans to impose heavy penalties for tax defaulters and expand tax offices across the country as it aims to increase the tax base by bringing to heel thousands of tax dodgers, Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake said on Monday.

The moves are expected to boost the island nation’s tax revenue, in line with a government commitment to meet part of a condition set by the International Monetary Fund for a loan of $1.5 billion it approved in May.

“If somebody tries to hoodwink and get caught, they can be subject to very heavy penalty,” Karunanayake told a Foreign Correspondents’ Association (FCA) forum late on Monday in Colombo.

He said the country has only around 650,000 tax files, whereas the number should be around 2 million to achieve the revenue targets.

“One thing we don’t want to do is taxing the people who are already paying taxes. But we will be very strict with others.”

Discover Kapruka, the leading online shopping platform in Sri Lanka, where you can conveniently send Gifts and Flowers to your loved ones for any event including Valentine ’s Day. Explore a wide range of popular Shopping Categories on Kapruka, including Toys, Groceries, Electronics, Birthday Cakes, Fruits, Chocolates, Flower Bouquets, Clothing, Watches, Lingerie, Gift Sets and Jewellery. Also if you’re interested in selling with Kapruka, Partner Central by Kapruka is the best solution to start with. Moreover, through Kapruka Global Shop, you can also enjoy the convenience of purchasing products from renowned platforms like Amazon and eBay and have them delivered to Sri Lanka.