Connect with us

News

SLRC has not paid VAT for 5 yrs?

Published

on

State owned national TV – Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation owes the Department of Inland Revenue (IRD) nearly Rs. 750 million as unpaid Value-added Tax (VAT), reports reveal.

It is said that the SLRC had not paid VAT for nearly 05 years.

In this backdrop, the IRD is reportedly taking measures to collect these unpaid taxes from companies that owe money to the SLRC.

Accordingly, the Acting Commissioner General of the IRD has informed the Development Lotteries Board to pay the IRD nearly Rs. 40 million it owes the SLRC monthly, for telecasting lottery draws.

Meanwhile, Dr. Prasad Samarasinghe, who has been functioning as the Chairman of the SLRC for nearly 05 months now, has also reportedly pulled strings to evade paying this tax.

It is said higher officials and the Acting Commissioner General of the IRD have been pressured over the matter, through Media Minister – Bandula Gunawardena, requesting leniency until the end of this year.

However, if a small scale entrepreneur had chosen to pay salaries and other expenses while leaving the taxes unpaid, the IRD would have sought legal redress.

The cause given by the SLRC Chairman for this tax evasion, is the major income slump being faced by the channel.

However, Trade Union representatives are of the view that the Chairman has been trying to peck into the SLRC’s YouTube channel earnings instead of motivating the staff to come up with productions to elevate the channel.

Meanwhile, it is also reported that the conduct of Mr. Samarasinghe had led to IRD doubting whether he is correctly paying taxes due for his local and offshore properties in Australia.

Busy day
Upon contacting the Acting Commissioner General of the IRD  – Mr. Upul Jayawardena in this regard, ‘Sri Lanka Mirror’ was told that he is unable to answer our query today as he is tied up with several discussions related to Budget 2024, throughout the day.

VAT increase due to this?
Meanwhile, Cabinet approval was recently granted to increase VAT from 15% to 18% from Jan. 01, 2024.

Speaking to ‘Sri Lanka Mirror’ on condition of anonymity, several company owners that are paying taxes, claimed that non-payment of taxes by state institutions had been a factor behind the decision to increase VAT.

News

Bus associations oppose proposal of 2% fare reduction

Published

on

By

The government’s proposal to reduce bus fares by a 2% effective from July 01 has led to the strong disapproval of bus associations, reports say.

It was also proposed not to revise the minimum fare.

The announcement was made during a meeting between officials of the Transport Ministry and representatives of private bus associations to discuss the annual bus fare revision, scheduled for July 01.

Continue Reading

News

UN Rights chief meets families of missing persons

Published

on

By

A group of activists and families of missing persons handed over letters and memorandums to the visiting United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk in Trincomalee today (June 25).

UN Human Rights Spokesperson – Jeremy Laurence, who is accompanying the High Commissioner, said while in Trincomalee that Mr. Volker Turk expressed sorrow and solidarity with the families of the disappeared.

Meanwhile, a peaceful demonstration was also held in Trincomalee during this visit, where a group of activists and victims of disappearances was seen holding placards and banners.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights will visit Kandy before concluding his official visit to Sri Lanka tomorrow (June 26) after a special press briefing in Colombo.

Continue Reading

News

200 new super luxury buses to be procured for expressways

Published

on

By

There is an urgent need to introduce new buses to the Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) bus fleet, as nearly 52% of the regular bus fleet of the Sri Lanka Transport Board and nearly 94% of the luxury bus fleet have exceeded the economic life span. 

As to the insufficient buses to meet the passenger demand on the expressway, the Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) is currently operating 61 luxury buses belonging to the private sector on a profit-sharing basis. 

Therefore, the Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) has decided to purchase 200 new super-luxury buses by using their own funds. 

Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the proposal presented by the Minister of Transport, Highways, Port and Civil Aviation to purchase 29 super luxury buses through the financially capable depots and to purchase the remaining buses by making a down payment using SLTB funds and the balance to be paid in monthly instalments over a period of 5 years.

Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2024 Sri Lanka Mirror. All Rights Reserved