Minister of Finance and Media, Mangala Samaraweera said that one must pay as much income tax as possible, out of love for the country.
He also said that he was happy to be able to introduce a new Inland Revenue Bill.
The Minister expressed these sentiments upon opening the second reading debate on the Inland Revenue Bill in Parliament today (07).
Increasing inland revenue has become a timely goal, he said, adding that the tax burden was borne by the common man and not those with a higher income.
Samaraweera also said that the rich, despite only constituting 20 percent of the population, were in control of 51.9 percent of the total income, whereas that the poor only had access to 4 percent of the income.
Both the rich and the poor are paying the same quantity with indirect taxes, the Ministersaid.
“Therefore we must increase direct income taxation.”
He then raised the question: who is against the reduction of indirect taxes?
We hope to introduce a “universal tax file number”, he explained, adding that it would be a simple tax system which did not compel everyone to pay income tax, but rather, only those earning over Rs. 100,000.
