It is revealed that the loss of income tax last year was Rs. 16 billion due to the removal of taxes levied on the highest income-earning businesses and on individuals with the coming to power of the current President. This information is included in the 2020 Annual Report of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.
“Income tax revenue fell by 37.3% from nominal 427.7 billion rupees in 2019 to 268.2 billion rupees in 2020,” the report said.
Last year alone, the government lost Rs.16 billion due to the removal of direct tax levied from the highest earners in the country.
If the income tax levied by the government had remained the same, it would have been possible to provide huge financial assistance to all people earning a daily income in the face of the covid epidemic. However, the government says that the closure of the country to control the covid epidemic will be detrimental to a large number of daily income earners. The government does not say that the ability to provide relief to these people has been lost due to the economic policies being followed by the government, including the President.
