ECONOMYNEXT — Sri Lanka’s State Minister of Finance Shehan Semasinghe has called leftist presidential candidate Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s election manifesto a wish list that does not reflect ground reality.
“Sorry to say the the National People’s Power (NPP)’s manifesto is just a wish list. It is a wish list that does not reflect ground reality,” Semasinghe said, speaking at a press conference on Wednesday August 28.
He also claimed that the NPP has copied certain aspects of its reform proposals from President Ranil Wickremesinghe, whose candidacy Semasinghe supports.
“They have proposed certain reform programmes. I checked this to see if there are any reforms that are different to those carried out by President Wickremesinghe. I cannot understand how the JVP became so bankrupt as to copy other people and present someone else’s thing as theirs,” he said.
The state minister also tweeted on Wednesday that Wickremesinghe’s policies are “stabilising the economy, contrasting with opposition promises that could risk another crisis.”
“Benefits from growth include a public sector allowance increase and adjusted personal income taxes, ensuring sustainable progress without economic harm,” he said.
In its manifesto, the NPP has proposed that Sri Lanka’s income tax-free threshold be increased to 2.4 million rupees a year from the current 1.2 million and to “equitably” amend tax rates and tax brackets.
The party has also proposed that the tax base be widened according to taxation fundamentals.
Increasing the tax-free threshold to include people who earn up to 200,000 rupees a month will likely exclude many people from the tax base, however.
NPP leader and presidential candidate Anura Kumara Dissanayake first proposed this increase in January 2023. He also said at the time that an NPP government would cap progressive taxation at a maximum of 24 percent.
“We will definitely reduce this tax,” he said.
Treasury Secretary Mahinda Siriwardana said on August 18 2024 that Sri Lanka’s planned relief to personal income tax payers could cost 0.08 percent of gross domestic product in lost revenues and would be compensated by additional tax measures. (Colombo/Aug28/2024)