COLOMBO – Sri Lanka government which is struggling to raise the state revenue despite higher taxes, has warned liquor manufacturers to pay defaulted taxes or lose their licence.
The government is now getting tough with past tax defaulters amid concerns over falling short of this year’s revenue target agreed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
“Liquor manufacturing firms owe us 660 crore rupees (6.6 billion rupees),” Siyambalapitiya told reporters on Thursday (21).
“Most of this or around a third is the only excise tax amount to be paid. The rest is penalty. If a liquor manufacturer does not pay on time, we impose a penalty of 3% per month This means 36% (penalty) per annum,” he said, warning, “We have given them deadline to repay the basic excise taxes. If they don’t pay, we will cancel their licence.”
President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s government committed an ambitious revenue target among many other reforms to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in return to a $3 billion loan package.
However, the revenue could face a short fall of 100 billion rupees, State Finance Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya has said.
A new Central Bank Act also has legally prevented the government of printing money at its discretion as in the past.
-economynext.com
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