President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has announced that the government plans to introduce further tax reductions in the upcoming Budget without affecting state revenue targets.
Speaking on the country’s economic performance, the President said the government had achieved its revenue targets without imposing any new taxes since assuming office.
“We have not imposed any new taxes since coming to power. In fact, we have significantly reduced some existing taxes. We will reduce certain taxes further in the upcoming Budget,” he said.
He emphasised that the proposed tax reductions would be implemented while maintaining the government’s revenue targets.
The President noted that previous administrations had repeatedly failed to achieve their projected revenue targets, often collecting only around 90 percent of the expected revenue.
In contrast, he said the current government had exceeded its revenue expectations while maintaining a primary budget surplus, which he described as an important step towards reducing the country’s debt burden over time.
He also acknowledged that rising inflation had placed additional pressure on households through increased prices of goods and services.
The President attributed much of the inflationary pressure to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and disruptions to international supply routes.
