A meeting between President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and Jay Shah, Chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC), was held on Friday (19) afternoon at the Presidential Secretariat.

Dr. Harsha points out masses are burdened with cascading taxes

While online casinos and betting roam free without being taxed

Opposition MP Dr. Harsha de Silva yesterday alleged that the actual tax burden on consumers was closer to 22 percent, despite the Government’s claim that Value Added Tax (VAT) stood at 18 percent, due to the cascading impact of the Social Security Contribution Levy (SSCL).

Speaking to the media, Dr. de Silva said the SSCL was imposed at several stages of the supply chain, including manufacturing, distribution, logistics and retail, with the additional costs ultimately being passed on to consumers.

He also criticised the Government over what he described as a delay in bringing online casinos and betting applications under the tax framework, claiming that such operators continued to earn substantial revenues without contributing taxes.

Dr. de Silva said he would closely monitor the June 30 deadline set by the Government for bringing these businesses into the tax net, and questioned the reasons behind the delay.

The Opposition MP further argued that the country’s existing tax policies had placed an unfair burden on consumers and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), while allowing certain sectors to remain outside the tax system.

Apropos ‘Creditor receives USD 2.5 mn as Lankan public bears loss from theft of Treasury funds’, government sources told The Island that the payment hadn’t been made yet. Other sources, familiar with the issue at hand, said that regardless of the payments made to the tune of USD 2.5 mn to fake foreign accounts, Sri Lanka would have to settle the loans within a stipulated period or would be in default, though the due date could be altered through negotiations.

Sources explained that relevant parliamentary procedures had to be followed to make fresh payments.