Sri Lanka to bring in 14 previously untaxed sectors into direct tax net
COLOMBO — Sri Lanka plans to tax 14 new previously untaxed sectors including large-scale private tuition classes and private medical services in a bid to increase direct taxation.
State Minister of Finance Ranjith Siyambalapitiya told reporters on Monday (8) that private schools and private engineering and surveyor services will also be taxed, adding that the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) has studied the income of persons engaged in the 14 sectors.
“It was by paying attention to such sectors that we were able to increase state revenue from 8.3% of GDP to over 11% in a short time and bring revenue and expenditure to some balance,” he said, noting that a primary surplus was possible because all those sectors were thoroughly looked into and revenues collected.
“We must continue this,” he said.
Explaining that the IRD’s Revenue Administration Management Information System (RAMIS) was being deployed, for this purpose, he said RAMIS would facilitate the obtaining of data on not just income but the expenditure of such institutes and that it was how proper calculation of income and expenditure was calculated globally.
Sri Lanka, he said, was moving forward step by step, he said, adding that by taking into account 14 sectors that have not been considered the government plans to increase the share of direct taxation to 70% from the current 60%.
He also said direct taxes were being increased to reduce the burden of indirect tax on the public.
Siyambalapitiya said that in 2022, 80% of tax revenue was indirect, while direct accounted for only 20, which meant 80% of the state revenue burden fell on everyone equally, from the richest person to the beggar on the street. “But now this has changed to 70 and 30%,” he said, adding that in two years, the government plans to change the ration to 60 -40 as in developed countries, taxing people who are able to pay direct taxes and reducing indirect taxes, especially value-added tax (VAT).
-economynext.com.
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