A | Colombo, Oct 20 (UNI) Amid growing criticism, Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe has justified a hike in income tax for both corporates and individuals, saying it was for the greater good of the country and critical to garner much needed financial support from the international community.
In an address to the nation, the President said the International Monetary Fund (IMF) with which the government has signed a Staff Level Agreement for a $2.9 billion four-year financial support, advised the need for a surplus in Sri Lanka’s primary budget, the Daily FT reported on Thursday.
“It was agreed to since the country needs the support of the IMF,” he was quoted him as saying.
“It was also decided to increase the country’s income from 8.5 per cent to 14.5 per cent of the GDP. However, it is a difficult task to accomplish immediately, it is envisaged to achieve this by 2026.
"Initially, a decision had to be taken on the manner in which the income is to be increased. Money was printed due to the decrease in income. During the past two years, Rs. 2,300 billion has been printed, resulting in inflation rising to 70-75 per cent and even more in respect of food inflation," he said.
Wickremesinghe said these increases need to be controlled, while securing income. Therefore, during the discussions with the IMF a new tax system was proposed. The IMF informed that even the export industries would be required to pay taxes.
The IMF pointed out that in countries with an export economy, the related industries were liable for tax. The IMF also upheld that Sri Lanka’s primary export economy is based on the plantation industry.
During British rule, taxes were charged from every plantation sector, including tea, coconut and rubber. Therefore, if the country has to move towards that goal, taxes will have to be paid. The export sector has now questioned this aspect and the related concerns are to be submitted to the IMF.
Referring to the issue of higher personal income taxation, the President said the majority of tax revenue was through indirect taxation. The majority of the country’s citizens, even those below the poverty line, had no choice but to pay indirect taxes, the President said.
The direct tax revenue was 20 per cent and 80 per cent has been derived from indirect taxes.
The IMF had reservations in this regard and said the amount of tax obtained through direct taxes should exceed 20 per cent. The IMF noted that otherwise this would not be successful and ordinary citizens would need to pay taxes, the President said.
Therefore, the Treasury and the IMF discussed the possibility of limiting the taxation from those who have an income of Rs. 200,000, which did not materialise. Eventually, this resulted in the decision to levy income tax on people earning over 100,000. This has become a vital concern amongst citizens.
But without this tax system, the desired goal will not be achieved. The agreed goal is to achieve 14.5-15 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) revenue by 2026, Wickremesinghe said.
If Sri Lanka withdraws from this programme, IMF assistance will not be received. Without IMF certification, the support of institutions such as the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and the countries that have supported financially will not be forthcoming. Then, Sri Lanka will be back to the era of queues, he warned.
In his address, Wickremesinghe also said the Government was ready to implement prudent economic management after successful debt restructuring.
He noted that it was not possible to strengthen the economy without increasing the revenue of the country, which will compel him to reluctantly make tough decisions in order to rebuild the nation.
The President pointed out how in November 2019, the country’s taxes were drastically reduced, reducing the government revenue to 8.5 per cent. This was when the IMF set aside the agreements with Colombo and declared that it was unable to provide the agreed assistance.
"That year the government lost approximately Rs. 600-700 billion as revenue. Simultaneously, the country had to face the Covid-19 pandemic. These issues are the main factors that led to the collapse of Sri Lanka’s economy.
"The country at this juncture is facing a difficult period. Expectedly tough decisions have to be taken during these difficult times. I undertook this challenge when no one else was willing to come forward."
UNI MR。 08月26日讯 阿根廷媒体《号角报》撰文指出，多名阿根廷国脚正在遭受世界杯余波的冲击，不少人的未来陷入不确定性。文章节选如下：恩佐·费尔南德斯在英超首秀中对阵富勒姆时遭到嘘声，奇怪的是，嘘声中竟夹杂着切尔西自家球迷的不满。
B | 巴尔科因与贝林厄姆的冲突而备受争议；迪布·马丁内斯则在阿斯顿维拉陷入僵局。
C | 与此同时，胡利安·阿尔瓦雷斯在西班牙处境艰难，饱受马竞球迷羞辱。相比之下，莫利纳和罗梅罗则幸运地“提前跳船”，得以脱身。最受批评的无疑是阿尔瓦雷斯，上轮西甲，他在马竞主场遭受全场球迷的谩骂。导火索是他在世界杯期间不合时宜的发言：他公开表示希望离开马竞，去巴萨实现梦想。他本想借此向俱乐部施压，推动转会，因为巴萨的报价屡屡被拒。然而这招不但没奏效，反而让马竞态度更加强硬。
D | 世界杯半决赛的交锋使阿根廷与英格兰之间的裂痕再度撕裂。
E | 恩佐的庆祝、赛后的马岛旗帜以及巴尔科与贝林厄姆的冲突等事件，都使得效力英超的阿根廷球员注定要遭受新一轮的辱骂，而本赛季英超开局已经证实了这一点。罗梅罗及时离开了热刺，但恩佐仍在英超，他是身价最高的球员之一。
F | 本周一，他在下半场第20分钟替补登场，迎接他的是主队球迷的漫天嘘声。有趣的是，切尔西球迷内部也分裂为嘘声和支持两派。在转会曼城事宜尚未解决之际，终场哨响后，恩佐独自离场，风格堪比阿尔瓦雷斯——他的队友们则留在场上与球迷庆祝3比2的胜利。
G | 世界杯后，马丁内斯陷入僵局。维拉原本同意将他卖给尤文，但谈判告吹，尤文因维拉要价过高而放弃。如今，他的未来充满变数。维拉在本次转会窗以约3500万欧元从帕尔马签下了23岁的日本门将铃木彩艳，马丁内斯则未进入大名单，未来悬而未决。而当其他阿根廷国脚正争分夺秒决定未来时，两名球员已经先后离开老东家。在热刺经历了一个险些降级的糟糕赛季后，罗梅罗以4000万欧元转会马德里竞技。另一位寻求变化的是莫利纳，他在世界杯表现平平后重返意甲，穿上罗马球衣。罗马支付1800万欧元给马竞。这位前博卡后卫因在世界杯决赛中对罗德里的一掌，算是躲过了西班牙的“嘘声”。
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