Inland Revenue targets Rs. 512 b for 2012
Shirajiv SIRIMANE
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Director General of Inland Revenue, Mallika Samarasekera and
Senior Commissioner, Kalyani Dahanayake at the event. Picture by
Sumanachandra Ariyawansa |
A revenue of Rs. 512 billion is being targeted by the Department of
Inland Revenue for 2012. This is an increase of Rs. 70 billion as
against the previous year.
Director General of Inland Revenue, Mallika Samarasekera said this
figure was 328 billion in 2011 and said that they contribute more than
50 % to the government revenue. Up to September this year they had
collected Rs. 369 billion.
Samarasekera said that the government has provided many concessions
to tax payers and this has somewhat reduced their tax revenue. “These
concessions are also granted to the SME sector and for exporters,” she
said. She said that for the first time they would be organizing a tax
week from November 1 to 8 and they are hoping to widen the tax net and
woo more than 500 new tax payers next year.
She lamented that unlike in some developed counties they do not have
a computerized system to open new files. “So we expect citizens to be
honest and join the tax net.”
Airing her views on tax defaulters she said that they have taken
legal action against 1,736 to claim around Rs. 15 million and also to
bring them to the tax paying community. She said the department believes
in the friendly process and promote the slogan ‘right tax and the right
time.’ The department is also planning to have a ‘hot line’ soon.
Currently there are 897,000 tax payers. |
