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Friday, 12 August 2016 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
By Chamodi Gunawardana
The special committee on Valued Added Tax revision, consisting of ministers from the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), has recommended that the monthly VAT threshold be increased from Rs. 1 million to Rs. 2 million.
If the recommendation is implemented, all businesses that earn Rs. 2 million or more per month will need to register to pay VAT.
Speaking at the SLFP weekly media briefing, Special Assignments Minister Dr. Sarath Amunugama said that they had requested Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake to include the proposal to the VAT amendment following demands raised by the trade community.
“Therefore the entrepreneurs who have small businesses that make less than Rs. 2 million per month do not need to pay VAT,” he said.
Amunugama added the special committee was appointed by President Maithripala Sirisena a few weeks ago in order to finalise SLFP opinion over VAT.
According to him, SLFP Ministers John Seneviratne, Susil Premajayantha, Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, Nimal Siripla de Silva, Lakshman Yapa Abeywardene and he were the members of the committee.
Amunugama said that the preparation for the 2017 Budget had commenced but had become a huge challenge for the Government due to the country’s debt trap.
When asked why, in spite of this dept trap, the Cabinet had decided to spend billions to purchase eight new multirole flight aircraft for the Sri Lankan Air Force, Amunugama replied that the aircraft were essential for the Air Force to train pilots and replace existing aircraft which had fallen into disrepair.
The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) invited former President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the Joint Opposition to participate in the party’s 65th anniversary celebrations, which will be held on 4 September.
Addressing the SLFP media conference, SLFP Vice President Minister John Seneviratne said that they were all welcome to the convention.
“All members of the Joint Opposition including Rajapaksa should be present at the event despite their different political ideologies,” he said.
“Real SLFPers should definitely participate in the convention since it is all about the future plans of the party,” he added.
