(LANKAPUVATH | COLOMBO) – The State Minister of Finance Dr. Ranjith Siyambalapitiya says that the government as promised is working to reduce the tax burden to the people when the state income increases and exempting certain items from the social security tax is a good example.
The State Minister points out that accordingly, equipment for people with special needs, rice production, polishable gems used for re-export, other tax-free goods sold in duty-free shops, and institutions that distribute electricity under licenses will be exempted from social security tax.
The Minister made these claims while joining the debate on the Social Security Contribution Tax Amendment Bill.
Mr. Siyambalapitiya mentioned that the social security tax has been able to exceed the expected revenue targets and the reason for this is the simplicity of this tax. He noted that although an income of 459,929 million rupees was expected from this tax, by the month of July, the tax income was recorded as 480,173 million rupees, surpassing those targets.
The Minister further said that these new amendments are being made with the aim of relieving the most affected people in fulfillment of the government’s promise that the people will be freed from the burden of taxes when the state income increases.
