Rs. 100 bn cannot be raised with PAYE hike – Harsha

Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP Harsha de Silva yestrday said that the government would not be able to collect Rs. 100 billion by PAYE tax.

He said that President Ranil Wickremesinghe had told Parliament that if the tax revisions were stalled, the state would lose Rs 100 billion.

Addressing the media in Colombo, de Silva challenged Wickremesinghe to explain how new PAYE tax revisions would add an extra 100 billion to state revenue.

“The President added that if the threshold for paying PAYE tax was increased to Rs. 200, 000 rupees a month, the state would lose Rs 63 billion. We must look at how this number came up. The Committee on Public Finance (COPF) will take steps to analyse these claims with subject experts soon,” he said.