New Tax Chief Kalyani Dahanayake gets her rightful place

Wednesday, 25 March 2015 01:04 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

New Chief at Inland Revenue From left: Inland Revenue Department Deputy Commissioner General Ivan Dissanayake, Deputy Commissioner General K.A.G. Abayarathna, Deputy Commissioner General Nadun Guruge, Senior Commissioner K.D.A.P. Koralearachchi, Deputy Commissioner General Anula Weerathunga, Commissioner General Kalyani Dahanayake (seated) with Lakshman Dahanayake (husband) and Gihani Dahanayake (daughter) – Pic by Shehan Gunasekara Kalyani Dahanayake yesterday assumed duties as the 22nd Commissioner General of the Inland Revenue Department (IRD). She is one of the most senior officers attached to the Department and is the fifth woman Commissioner General in its history. New Tax Chief Dahanayake has been with the Department since 1981 and holds a Master’s Degree in management and several other postgraduate qualifications. She replaced Wasanthi Manchanyake who was the acting Commissioner General. The new posting marks a return of Dahanayake to the Department who was transferred as the Director General of Information Technology Management Department of the Finance Ministry under the previous regime. The Cabinet last week had approved her appointment and she assumed duties with effect from 19 March. “The Inland Revenue Department is the most important Government department in our economy and the Finance Ministry will do its utmost to develop it,” Dahanayake said. Dahanayake pledged that IRD would continue building public confidence in tax administration and related activities, encouraging the public to voluntarily comply with the tax laws. She recalled the IRD was a vibrant Government institution and pledged to regain that status. Dahanayake called for the support of all members of the staff to rebuild this reputation and stressed the importance of making the department sophisticated to go on a new journey. She pointed out that she intended to strengthen the capacity of the department’s staff by providing higher education qualifications. “I want to have a skilled and motivated workforce in IRD. I would like to suggest that the employees get an opportunity to complete a postgraduate courses and even master’s degrees available via an affiliated university,” she opined. Speaking at the event, IRD Deputy Commissioner, K.A.G. Abeyratne expressed his confidence that the new Commissioner General would be successful in fulfilling IRD’s targets and facing future challenges.