13 September 2023 01:36 pm
The Sectoral Oversight Committee on Alleviating the Impact of the Economic Crisis has assured to intervene in taking necessary measures to present amendments to the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) tax in the upcoming budget.
The assurance was given by Parliamentarian Gamini Waleboda as committee chairman during a discussion with several trade unions representing the professionals affected by the tax revision process.
The trade union representatives expressed their opinions at length on what is expected from the tax amendments and whether the objectives have been achieved.
The representatives said that many professionals have been affected by the amendments to the PAYE tax during the tax reforms.
Finance Ministry officials who participated in the discussion pointed out that the government is still below the expected revenue targets this year through the PAYE tax revision.
However, the officials said that efforts are being made to provide relief to the affected professionals due to the tax revision.
Officials of the Inland Revenue Department stated that a special programme has been started to add persons who are not involved in the tax process. Accordingly, a new taxpayer group registration programme (Bulk Registration) has been planned to start this week.
The committee acknowledged the seriousness of the problem to the extent that professionals are leaving the country due to the tax issue. The committee, therefore assured the trade union representatives that the Government and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will be strongly urged to resolve this issue.
The chairman pointed out the importance of preparing a policy on how taxes should be imposed for each profession and turning it into a legal document through Parliament in the future or when tax revisions take place.
Accordingly, the chairman instructed the representatives of the relevant trade unions to prepare a report on the revisions to be made to the PAYE tax within two weeks and submit it to the committee. (Ajith Siriwardana)