Ceylon Chamber wants taxation unchanged; clear and consistent investor, exporter friendly policies

The country’s premier private sector lobby, the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC) has urged the Government to retain the current taxation regime in addition to better facilitation of exports and investments.

In a first-of-its-kind formal pre-Budget statement, the Chamber said that the Government introduced significant reforms to the taxation system with Budget 2011. “The Ceylon Chamber acknowledges that those reforms were largely in line with the representations made by the chamber to the Presidential Taxation Commission.                                          

In our submissions for Budget 2012, the chamber requested the Government to, in the least, maintain the current tax structure for a period of three years. Changes, if any, should be to accommodate improvements to this structure with a view to correcting any anomalies and to making the tax system more effective,” the statement added.

From a policy perspective, the Ceylon Chamber highlighted: “The need is to have a better facilitative framework for investments and exports and clear and consistent investor/exporter friendly policies, as we believe that these are two vital areas for the Sri Lankan economy for the next few years.”

The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce is an effective spokesman of the Sri Lankan business sector. Founded in 1839, the institution has been the focal point for business contacts locally and abroad for more than 172 years.

It has many specialised committees, affiliated associations and 21 bilateral business councils promoting international business. Its members serve on various institutions and committees set up by the Government and the private sector.