Finance State Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya said yesterday that he has no plans to leave the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) or seek membership in any other political party. He also said that he has no desire to end his political journey that began with the commencement of the progressive student movement when he was a student at the Sri Jayewardenepura University as far back as 1981.
The Minister was commenting on the decision taken by the SLFP Central Committee to remove six members from the positions they held in the party.
He was participating in an inspection tour to the Inland Revenue Department Head Office yesterday.
He also said that political stability in the country is an essential factor to resolve the economic crisis. “Both local and International institutions such as the International Monetary Fund suggested Political stability should be established in the country. Therefore, We
mooted the proposal to set up the National Government,” the Minister added.
“We as a team took some steps to bring this country forward at this crucial time. I respect the President for taking over the country despite many challenges,” he added.
The Minister also said that the Department of Inland Revenue is engaged in fulfilling its tasks even in a crisis situation. The number of personal tax files has reduced from 1.5 million to 1.1 million. Necessary actions will be taken to alleviate these shortcomings.
The Minister is also commenting on the controversial sugar tax scam. He said that if there was fraud in the sugar tax episode, there is no mechanism to raise the taxes again and recover the losses.
“It is also not easy to punish those who made policies. But we can find out whether the income tax of these companies has increased during the relevant period. Therefore, I have asked the Inland Revenue Commissioner-General to provide a report in this regard within 10 days,” the Mnister said.
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