Tax revenue from Jaffna:

IRD targets Rs 100 m

Harshini Perera

The Inland Revenue Department has received Rs 77 million as income tax from Jaffna in 2009. The Department targets a tax income of Rs 100 million this year from Jaffna as the tourism industry and trading activities have shown a considerable increase.

It expects to open 2,000 new files for Jaffna this year, Inland Revenue Commissioner General Mahinda Medagoda said.

As activities related to tourism, transport and agriculture are emerging, regional offices in Jaffna and Batticoloa have been very active ever since.

Taxpayers in those areas have been paying their due taxes for the development of the country, Medagoda said.

He said taxpayers make it a duty by themselves in those areas to pay taxes and their past activities are not counted when they open new files.

Public taxes are utilized for the development of the area.

There will be more officers allocated to the Jaffna regional office soon and then the staff is fully geared to cater to the enterprises and individual tax-payers in those areas.

The number of the total income tax files opened in Jaffna upto January this year was 3867.

The total turnover tax files opened for the same period was 2709.

The Department is conducting awareness programs in Jaffna to enhance tax-payer education. Entrepreneurs, enterprises and individuals have shown an increasing interest with the developments taking place after the war.

“We expect many will follow in the footsteps of current taxpayers and voluntarily open files to pay taxes,” the Commissioner General said.