Pay the 'right tax at the right time' - IRD

The National tax week will be launched from the 1st to the 8th of next month as presented by the President in the 2012 budget.

The Commissioner General of Inland Revenue Mrs.Mallika Samarasekera said that the objective of holding this week is to encourage people to pay taxes and to create awareness of the virtues of paying the ‘right tax at the right time.

A special unit with facilities to pay taxes in a single location in the concept of One Stop Shop will be declared open at the headquarters of the department on the 1st of next month. Mrs. Samarasekera said that the government has introduced many modifications to the tax laws and simplified the tax structure.

The Commissioner General addressing a media briefing at the Department of Government Information on Wednesday (24) further said that officials of the Department will hold seminars in all the Districts during the tax week to enlighten the people on the importance of paying taxes as it is tax payments that finance all construction work, welfare facilities and subsidies provided by the government.   She said that a seminar on tax proposals that will be presented in the budget 2013 will be held on the 8th of next month. The department is also planning to install a hotline number to handle tax payer queries, complaints and recommendations.

The Inland Revenue Department has set a revenue target of Rs. 512 billion this year and up to end September has collected taxes worth Rs. 369 billion, eight percent higher than a year earlier. Accounting for around 50 percent of total government revenue, the department collected Rs. 328 billion in 2010 and Rs. 442 billion.

(niz)