Dr. Harsha de Silva, Chairman of the Committee of Public Finance instructed officials to the Ministry of Finance that an analytical report be submitted on the increase of export levy as per the Inland Revenue (Amendment) Bill which is expected to be passed in Parliament.
The Chairman instructed the above at the Committee on Public Finance held in Parliament recently (28) taking up the Inland Revenue (Amendment) Bill into consideration.
The Committee also instructed the Ministry of Finance and the Department of Inland Revenue to indicate the expected revenue for each sector by increasing the tax of 14% to 30%.
Furthermore, the chairman of the committee was informed to submit a detailed report on the amount of income obtained falling under the respective export sectors in consideration of the previous tax rates.
The committee pointed out that instead of short-term efforts to increase the government’s income by raising export taxes, long-term action should be taken, and export taxes should be collected so as not to discourage exporters who bring dollars to the country. Therefore, the chairman of the committee said that the draft Bill should be considered pertaining to the lowering of the export tax percentage at the committee stage.
Furthermore, the proposed increase in personal income tax was also discussed at the Committee meeting held. The committee informed the officials to present a comparative analysis of the existing conditions of other countries in the region in this regard.
Thus, subject to the above instructions, the Inland Revenue (Amendment) Bill received the approval of the Committee on Public Finance.
