Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP Harsha de Silva has criticized the government for its contradictory stance on withholding tax (WHT) policies. In a tweet, de Silva questioned why the National People’s Power (NPP) policy document, endorsed by President Anura Dissanayake, did not mention plans to increase WHT on interest.
De Silva pointed out that while the NPP promised no taxes for incomes below Rs. 200,000 per month, this has already proven untrue. He contrasted this with SJB’s tax policy outlined in their Blueprint, which proposed increasing WHT on interest—excluding senior citizens—to offset revenue losses caused by tax slab adjustments.
“What is the point of being truthful (clean!) I am wondering?” de Silva remarked, highlighting the importance of transparency in policy-making. (NewsWire)
I went through Pres @anuradisanayake NPP policy document to see if they ever spoke of increasing withholding tax on interest. I could not find it. But in our Blueprint we clearly mentioned that in order to claw back the loss in tax revenue by reducing the first slab (Rs 100k to… pic.twitter.com/rI8WWTHluF
— Harsha de Silva (@HarshadeSilvaMP) January 4, 2025
