Mangala patches up loopholes in new IR Act

By Skandha Gunasekara

Finance and Mass Media Minister Mangala Samaraweera told Parliament yesterday that he would bring in a series of amendments to the newly-introduced Inland Revenue Act.

The amendments will be presented in Parliament during the first week of July, he said.

“The removal of 15% VAT on channelling at private hospitals, exemption of all savings accounts of children less than 18 years from income tax and exemption of royalty payments up to Rs. 50,000 per month from income tax are included in these amendments,” he said.

The Minister said that the amendments had already received Cabinet approval. 

“We have already informed our officers not to charge these taxes as we hope to pass the amendments soon,” he added.

He observed that artistes who earned more than Rs. 50,000 monthly from royalty payments would still have to pay the income tax.  He also noted that the 15% VAT would remain for those who obtained residential treatment at private hospitals. 

The new Inland Revenue Act came into operation from 1 April. It introduced a new income tax structure to raise state revenue by closing existing loopholes in revenue collection.