Govt ready to make ongoing economic reforms a law – State Minister tells IMF

Sri Lanka’s State Minister of Finance Shehan Semasinghe has assured that the economic reforms being implemented will not be disrupted by the coming elections and that the government is ready to make the ongoing reforms a law of the country.

The State Minister had stated this during a discussion with the IMF’s Executive Director for India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Bhutan, Prof. Krishnamurthy V. Subramanian.

“During the discussion, ensured that the reforms implemented will not be disrupted with election been announced and the government is ready to make the ongoing reforms a law of the country which demonstrates the dedication to stability and sustainable growth,” he said in a post on ‘X’. 

Semasinghe further said that wide-ranging topics were discussed around the current IMF programme and attention was also paid to the challenges in digitising the tax process.

He said it was pointed out that the government has taken steps to increase the number of tax files, which had decreased due to various policy decisions, to approximately one million at present. 

Meanwhile, the State Minister of Finance has also held a discussion with the Deputy Chief Economist at the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Dr Fergus Cumming, and the British High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Andrew Patrick.

He said the discussion delved into various aspects of current economic trends, exploring their implications and identifying emerging challenges and opportunities, particularly in the context of post-crisis recovery efforts. 

Additionally, he said they examined the outcomes of the IMF programme and discussed reforms extending beyond the programme’s scope. “The emphasis was placed on the significance of maintaining momentum with reforms,” he said in a post on ‘X’.

Furthermore, views were exchanged on enhancing tax administration practices, Semasinghe stressed.