Money Makers

The government plans to streamline its revenue collecting units and give legislative powers to new taxes that were proposed in the previous budget, the Treasury Secretary said Tuesday.
The previous government initiated a Sri Lanka Revenue Collection Authority, which combined the Inland Revenue, Customs and Excise Departments, in an attempt to reform and strengthen public finances.





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rnBut new Treasury Secretary Dr. P B Jayasundara says the proposal is being scrapped, instead relevant departments are being streamlined and given muscle to enhance revenue collection.

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rnldblquote When our per capita income was around US$ 300 or so tax collection was around 20 percent of GDP. Now per capita is touching US$ 1000, but revenue collection is down to about 14 percent.

We want to streamline these processes to ensure the government machinery brings in the money, dblquote Jayasundara told Lanka Business Online in an interview.



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rnNew tax collecting measures proposed in the previous budget, are due to go b