On October 24, Sri Lankas President, Mahinda Rajapaksa, in his additional role as the Minister of Finance and Planning, presented Sri Lankas 2015 Budget, which aims through a variety of incentives to stimulate the countrys further economic development. Gross domestic product (GDP) growth of eight percent is targeted for next year, along with a deficit of 4.6 percent of GDP, down from 5 percent of GDP in 2014. The Government expects to be able to cut the deficit to 3.8 percent and to 3 percent of GDP in 2016 and 2017, respectively. The headline tax cuts for next year include a cut to the maximum pay-as-you-earn personal income tax rate to 16 percent to ease the burden of wage earning employees and professionals, while the value added tax (VAT) rate would also be reduced to 11 percent from 12 percent. It is proposed that the tax registration threshold for VAT and the National Building Tax will be hiked to LKR15m (USD114,600) per month to create a tax- free environment for small business. Small traders with a monthly turnover that is less than LKR50,000 will also be exempted from all levies imposed by local authorities. The Budget also concentrates on the modernization of Sri Lankas export industries. An accelerated depreciation provision and exemption from income tax on dividends will be granted to exporters that invest more than USD2m in machinery and equipment. - See more at: tax-news/news/Sri_Lankan_Budget_Provides_Tax_Cuts____66226.html#sthash.mEUTAh0h.dpuf tax-news/news/Sri_Lankan_Budget_Provides_Tax_Cuts____66226.html
Posted on: Tue, 28 Oct 2014 09:30:01 +0000
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