President Anura Kumara Dissanayake says the government aims to reduce Value Added Tax (VAT) rates over the next two to three years as part of efforts to provide financial relief to the public.
Speaking at a ceremony to present appointment letters to 1,540 new Grama Niladhari officers at Temple Trees on Thursday (Oct. 8), the President said the government was working towards reducing the tax burden on citizens while managing rising public expenditure.
“Our objective is to provide relief to the people by reducing Value Added Tax (VAT) rates over the next two to three years,” he said.
The President also stressed the need to remove taxes on essential educational materials, saying children should not have to bear a tax burden when purchasing books.
“If a child has to pay a tax when purchasing a book to read, we should remove that tax,” he said.
However, the President acknowledged that reducing taxes would require careful management of government expenditure, particularly as the administration implements salary increases for public sector employees.
He said the government’s decision to increase public sector basic salaries in three stages would result in an additional expenditure of Rs. 330 billion by 2027.
The President said the government would have to balance these financial commitments when preparing the next national Budget, scheduled to be presented on November 12.
He also noted that public sector salaries were funded through taxes collected from citizens, making it necessary to strike a balance between improving government employees’ incomes and providing relief to taxpayers. (Newswire)
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