Economic analysts have indicated that a minimum loan of nearly 5 trillion rupees will have to be taken according to the 2024 budget to be presented next month.
This loan has to be taken to pay the high interest on the treasury bills that have been obtained locally and the failure of the government to get the expected revenue. Due to the decline in the country’s revenue generation due to the economic contraction measures followed by Ranil Wickramasinghe’s Pohottu coalition government, its tax revenues have been limited.
In addition, last year, the highest income earners were allowed tax evasion exceeding Rs. 904000 million, and as a result, the government’s revenue collection has fallen drastically.
It has been pointed out that the debt burden will increase further due to having to take a large amount of debt to cover finances lost due to evasion and non-collection of taxes and the government having to give some concessions to bamboozle the voters as next year could be a year of election.
