The masses may have to tighten their belts much more next year, with the government expected to increase the Value Added Tax (VAT) from 11% to 15% with the next budget. According to State Minister of Finance Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena, the VAT increase is likely to be announced when the government presents its budget later this year.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe
The budget for 2017 will be presented in mid-November. The VAT increase is currently on hold after the Supreme Court announced that the VAT Bill which was presented in Parliament recently was null and void as due procedure was not followed when presenting the Bill.
In April this year, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe made an announcement in Parliament that the VAT will be increased from 11% to 15% May with effect from May. However, following a petition by Opposition MP Wimal Weerawansa; the Supreme Court issued an interim order suspending the tax increase mid-July. The tax increase was to become affective after the Government passed the VAT Bill in Parliament, however the government suffered yet another setback when the Supreme Court ruled that the government had not followed the correct procedure when presenting the Bill in Parliament.
Mano / September 10, 2016
So we have to keep sacrificing even more, so that these fat cats can continue to go about in their luxury cars, pay for their trips abroad, and for their extravagant life styles? Nothing changes.
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Dinuk / September 11, 2016
Until the practice of giving corrupt politicians DUTY FREE vehicles is Stopped, all Sri lankans should refuse to pay VAT and other taxes.
The politicians should pay their taxes first!
before asking poor people to pay taxes.
The poor have to pay taxes in order to subsidize the super luxury SUV lifestyle of the clowns who feast on cavier are the Diayaweena Parliament of corrupt and criminal clowns!
Big Jokes!
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Antany Peter / September 10, 2016
The good governance government is not making the business owners to pay reasonable tax. According to my experience in Sri Lanka the business owners only showing little profit, in order to avoid paying tax. The internal revenue officers can be bribed easily, almost impossible to tax the rich. The government is increasing the VAT, in order to increase its income from the poor citizens. The politicians and business owners are failing to understand the fact that making their citizen poor won’t help the businesses or economy. People must have purchasing power, in order to have successful businesses and good economy.
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shankar / September 11, 2016
VAT is the way to go.Go and see singapore,HK,monaco etc.Due to low business taxs and income taxes they encourage business investment and encourage employees to work hard and keep their money instead of giving to government nearly half of what they earn as in some other countries where it is a disincentive to take risk and invest and to go to work and give nearly half to government.
however VAT should be used only after you bring wasteful expenditure to the minimum levels possible,otherwise as you pointed out it is unfair to the poor.
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len / September 12, 2016
Knock me down with a father I was so sure Sri Lanka leap frog pass HK & Singapore during glorious Rajapaks times and now few toes in front of Monaco under MS RW with the help of Arajuna Mahendran’s cunning plan.
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len / September 13, 2016
Pew! extraordinary Antany not blaming the West. Are you feeling tiny bit guilty after all this time living in New Zealand.
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shankar / September 11, 2016
this stubborn ranil will never learn even if he loses election after election,because he is insensitive to the ordinary people’s feelings.Cocooned within his colombo 7 elite since birth,the only ordinary people who he may have come into contact with are his and his friends domestics and ayahs.
he is going to lose the LG elections too if he continues on this path of VAT.
The people may tolerate the vAT increase provided the government cuts down its own wasteful expenditure.Asking the people to fund wasteful expenditure by further increases in indirect taxes is asking for electoral trouble,like the proverbial saying applying salt on the wound.When it comes to wastefulness of government spending srilanka is ranked 52nd.singapore is ranked 3rd and rwanda is ranked 4th.It is better for ranil to download the rwandan and singaporean budget and see the percentages of each category of expenditure as a percentage of the total budget and then compare with ours.It won’t take him even an hour.New zealands is 5th.Also look at that to see how a western democracy model which ranil is also aspiring srilanka to be spends its expenses thriftily.malaysia is 8th.another to look at and copy.So bring our wasteful government expenditure rankings from current position of 52 to less than 10 and then increase the VAT form 11 % to 15%.If all these countries mentioned have done it especially an african country like Rwanda,why can’t we.
Otherwise get a good bloody nose at the LG elections which the people are gritting their teeth and waiting for.This perennial loser ranil will never learn from his previous mistakes because he never had to sweat his arse off to get the current job of leader of the UNP.just fell into his lap thanks to prabha wiping out the entire leadership and making the UNP a headless chook.
The biggest weakness of ranil is that he does not have his hands on the pulse of the people.He should get out of his bomb proof cars and walk the streets talking to the people at least once a month,otherwise instead of bombproof he will get a electoral bomb poof for poofters.
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sr / September 11, 2016
Sacrifice today to come back next year:
This next year tomorrow, never comes to masses
For masses to keep belts tightened for ever but the handful and their kith and kin keep the belts loosened for ever to accommodate swelling bulges.
Masses want a revolution.
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