Finance Ministry instructed to submit report on sugar tax

Friday, 8 January 2021 00:20 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

P’ment Committee on Public Finance says even though sugar tax was reduced, consumers yet to benefit
Says tax revisions should benefit consumers

The Committee on Public Finance yesterday instructed the Finance Ministry officials to submit a report to the Committee on how the recent sugar tax revision has benefited consumers.

Committee Chairman Anura Priyadharshana Yapa said that although the tax on the price of imported sugar was revised to 25 cents from Rs. 50.00 per kilogram through Gazette Notification No. 2197/12 issued by the Ministry of Finance on 13 October 2020, the benefit of the tax revision has not been passed down to the consumers.

The Committee also directed the Finance Ministry to submit a report on whether the revision of the tax on steel towers imported for the construction sector will benefit the general consumers. The Committee Chairman said tax revisions should benefit the consumers and hence it important to find out if this was happening.

The Public Finance Committee which met yesterday, discussed several of the special gazette notifications issued by the Ministry of Finance since last October pertaining to revisions of taxes.

Attention was also drawn to steps to be taken to encourage the production of canned local seawater and freshwater fish, the revision of taxes on medical test kits and the code revision of safety masks.