Basil Rajapaksa, Minister of Finance says that there is no plan to impose a special commodity tax on essential commodities.
He said that the goods that will be taxed will be known soon.
Addressing a media briefing today to explain the budget proposals, he pointed out that the Special Commodity Levy in the budget proposal which will be imposed from next year is not a new step but only the implementation of the previous year’s budget proposal.
He said the big tax changes had not been made in this budget as he had been given the condition that the tax policy should not be changed much.
“One of the conditions I received while preparing this budget was that the tax policy introduced last year should remain the same without making any major changes. Special Commodity tax was a proposal from the last budget. Everything has been prepared for it to be drafted. We will implement it from January 1, 2022. It is a tax system that depends on the same policy without changing it from time to time. In this, we have identified several types of tax collectors. Some people may take advantage of it if it is released now.
Therefore, the Secretary to the Ministry of Finance does not even tell me properly the items that include tax, because we are politicians. Frequently we are going in front of the media. If any of them are revealed, it can be detrimental immediately. The best example is the price of these cigarettes which have been advertised in some media and some people have been stocking them now. I would like to answer that as a politician but as the Minister of Finance I have a responsibility and I have been advised not to mention the items that are included. As soon as possible you can find out about the items that are included and excluded. The tax will not be levied on essential commodities or other required commodities of the people.”