JVP blasts new Inland Revenue Act, IMF

The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) yesterday said that it will campaign against the new Inland Revenue Act.

JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake said that his party is against the new Act and so will push for it not to be passed in Parliament.

Dissanayake accused the Government of preparing the Act to meet the requirements of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and not the Sri Lankan public.

He said that the JVP will seek public support against the Act before it is submitted to Parliament.

Minister of Finance and Mass Media Mangala Samaraweera during a discussion with representatives of trade unions of the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) last week stated that the main objective of the new Inland Revenue Bill was to simplify the tax system in the country in order to create an investor friendly environment that will attract more foreign direct investments in the near future.

The Minister said that the present tax system in place is complicated and that investors find it difficult to understand. Therefore, he said that the new Inland Revenue Bill will broad-base the tax system and incorporate globally accepted new tax principles to deal with international cross border relations. (Colombo Gazette)