Cabinet: State employees liable for PAYE Tax

31 May 2018 08:06 am

President Maithripala Sirisena is reported to have said at the Cabinet meeting yesterday that the payments made to the Ministers and MPs amounted to be honorariums, and therefore they could not be considered for taxation.

The President reportedly said the MPs had an honorific before their names, and therefore, what they drew from the State could not be seen as salaries but as honorariums.

Honorariums are payments given for professional services that are rendered nominally without charge.

The President made these remarks in the event of some Ministers complaining earlier that they had been made heavily liable for the PAYE Tax (Pay As You Earn Tax).  (Kelum Bandara)