SJB, NPP hold talks with IMF delegation; Sajith slams govt over tax burden

The Leader of the Opposition Sajith Premadasa has met with a group of representatives of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) who are on an official visit to Sri Lanka.

The IMF delegation was led by Senior Mission Chief for Sri Lanka Peter Breuer. The meeting reportedly took place at the Opposition Leader’s Office.

During the discussion, Premadasa has accused the current government of excessively increasing a number of taxes, including the Value-Added Tax (VAT) and placing a heavy tax burden on the general public, under the false front of achieving the targets set in the IMF program.

The Opposition Leader also mentioned that as a result, the general public including pregnant women, children, middle-income people and public sector employees have now become ‘helpless’.

In the meantime, the IMF delegation has also met with a group of representatives of the National People’s Power (NPP) at the head office of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP).

Several representatives of the NPP including Parliamentarian Dr. Harini Amarasuriya and MP Sunil Handunnetti have taken part in the discussion.