
A | Colombo, Oct 20 (UNI) Amid growing criticism, Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe has justified a hike in income tax for both corporates and individuals, saying it was for the greater good of the country and critical to garner much needed financial support from the international community.
In an address to the nation, the President said the International Monetary Fund (IMF) with which the government has signed a Staff Level Agreement for a $2.9 billion four-year financial support, advised the need for a surplus in Sri Lanka’s primary budget, the Daily FT reported on Thursday.
“It was agreed to since the country needs the support of the IMF,” he was quoted him as saying.
“It was also decided to increase the country’s income from 8.5 per cent to 14.5 per cent of the GDP. However, it is a difficult task to accomplish immediately, it is envisaged to achieve this by 2026.
"Initially, a decision had to be taken on the manner in which the income is to be increased. Money was printed due to the decrease in income. During the past two years, Rs. 2,300 billion has been printed, resulting in inflation rising to 70-75 per cent and even more in respect of food inflation," he said.
Wickremesinghe said these increases need to be controlled, while securing income. Therefore, during the discussions with the IMF a new tax system was proposed. The IMF informed that even the export industries would be required to pay taxes.
The IMF pointed out that in countries with an export economy, the related industries were liable for tax. The IMF also upheld that Sri Lanka’s primary export economy is based on the plantation industry.
During British rule, taxes were charged from every plantation sector, including tea, coconut and rubber. Therefore, if the country has to move towards that goal, taxes will have to be paid. The export sector has now questioned this aspect and the related concerns are to be submitted to the IMF.
Referring to the issue of higher personal income taxation, the President said the majority of tax revenue was through indirect taxation. The majority of the country’s citizens, even those below the poverty line, had no choice but to pay indirect taxes, the President said.
The direct tax revenue was 20 per cent and 80 per cent has been derived from indirect taxes.
The IMF had reservations in this regard and said the amount of tax obtained through direct taxes should exceed 20 per cent. The IMF noted that otherwise this would not be successful and ordinary citizens would need to pay taxes, the President said.
Therefore, the Treasury and the IMF discussed the possibility of limiting the taxation from those who have an income of Rs. 200,000, which did not materialise. Eventually, this resulted in the decision to levy income tax on people earning over 100,000. This has become a vital concern amongst citizens.
But without this tax system, the desired goal will not be achieved. The agreed goal is to achieve 14.5-15 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) revenue by 2026, Wickremesinghe said.
If Sri Lanka withdraws from this programme, IMF assistance will not be received. Without IMF certification, the support of institutions such as the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and the countries that have supported financially will not be forthcoming. Then, Sri Lanka will be back to the era of queues, he warned.
In his address, Wickremesinghe also said the Government was ready to implement prudent economic management after successful debt restructuring.
He noted that it was not possible to strengthen the economy without increasing the revenue of the country, which will compel him to reluctantly make tough decisions in order to rebuild the nation.
The President pointed out how in November 2019, the country’s taxes were drastically reduced, reducing the government revenue to 8.5 per cent. This was when the IMF set aside the agreements with Colombo and declared that it was unable to provide the agreed assistance.
"That year the government lost approximately Rs. 600-700 billion as revenue. Simultaneously, the country had to face the Covid-19 pandemic. These issues are the main factors that led to the collapse of Sri Lanka’s economy.
"The country at this juncture is facing a difficult period. Expectedly tough decisions have to be taken during these difficult times. I undertook this challenge when no one else was willing to come forward."
UNI MR。
“下村检查水库,申请一辆公车。”8月19日午后刚上班,日照市五莲县于里镇农业综合服务中心工作人员王友礼快步走进镇党政办。 “老王,这次给你换辆新到的车。”镇党政办工作人员潘春鹏一边递出申请单,一边说道。 “镇里什么时候有‘新车’了?”王友礼有些惊喜。 “我们刚申请到一辆专门保障下乡的应急用车,里程数不到10万公里。”潘春鹏转身从钥匙柜里取出车钥匙,“这车原本在省直机关闲置,前些日子调拨到县里,现在又分到咱们镇,补上了空缺的用车编制。”
五莲县地处山区,乡镇工作人员下村入户频繁。此前,于里镇共有5个公车编制,2辆车已达到报废状态,实际能正常使用的只有3辆。“这5辆车每年要花8万多元维修费,其中大部分费用集中在这2辆旧车上。

B | ”于里镇党委书记周华说,因为用车紧张,很多同事下村只能开私家车。 镇上“资历最老”的这2辆车购于2010年前后,记者拉开驾驶位车门,刺耳的“吱呀”声传来,车身及内饰多处老化,掉皮掉漆,行驶里程也超过45万公里。
面对日益老化的车况和不断增长的用车需求,2021年以来,于里镇先后3次提交书面申请,协调解决车辆更新问题,但受限于县级财政压力和车辆编制的刚性约束,申请迟迟未能落地。 于里镇的现状,折射出基层公务用车长期存在的困境。放眼全省,基层公车大多服役年限偏长,运行里程普遍在40万公里以上;而地方财政紧张,难以大规模购置新车,车辆更新压力较大。 如何实现过紧日子与保障基层出行的双赢?
自2017年起,山东逐步建立全省公务用车管理平台,对车辆行驶里程、位置信息等实现全程可视化监管,全面掌握机构改革、部门撤并、临时机构任务结束等情形下产生的车辆超编、闲置情况,将所有“富余”车辆纳入公物仓统一管理。 “今年,我们进一步整合全省闲置公务用车资产,构建‘实体仓+虚拟仓’结合的公务用车公物仓管理系统。”山东省机关事务管理局公务用车管理处处长史晓虎介绍,目前实体仓集中收储闲置、低效运转的公务用车40台;虚拟仓则依托信息化手段,将一定数量的车辆纳入线上统筹,在保持全省公务用车编制总数不增加的前提下,实现动态划拨、资源共享。 过去,公车资产受分级管理限制,省里的车辆难以顺畅调拨到市县。为此,省机关事务局与省财政厅联合打通资产划拨渠道,破除了车辆资产分级管理形成的壁垒。

C | 在此基础上,山东选取济南市历下区、新泰市、莘县、五莲县、泗水县等5个县(市、区)作为试点,筛选20辆车从公物仓一次性下拨,推动低效运转车辆跨单位、跨区域、跨层级使用。

D | 作为全省首批试点之一,五莲县在初步构建“上级统筹、县级归集、按需调剂、共享复用”的省市县三级一体化体系的基础上,进一步将保障链条延伸至乡镇,探索构建省市县乡四级联动机制。 经过申请,7月21日,五莲县接收省、市公物仓调拨的公务用车5辆,全部纳入县公务用车管理平台。随后,结合平台运行数据和乡镇实际需求,又将4辆车投放到于里镇等4处位置偏远、车辆老化、用车缺口突出的乡镇。 “这批车辆在一定程度上弥补了基层公车运力缺口,解决了公车老旧失修、安全隐患突出、下村入户不便等现实问题。”五莲县机关事务服务中心主任孙宏波说,下沉车辆重点保障乡村振兴、基层治理、应急值守、入户督查等工作。 孙宏波给记者算了两笔账:调拨来的车几乎不新增财政开支,相比购买新车,每辆车可减支10多万元,成本也远低于租用社会车辆;每更新一辆公车,维修成本至少下降40%,安全性能也大幅提升。 “我们将总结试点经验,完善省市县一体化公物仓体系,探索通过数字化手段提升公车调度效率,推动更多闲置公车资源向基层倾斜。”史晓虎说。 (大众新闻记者 刘兵 盖颐帆 通讯员 吕纬航)。
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