SJB Presidential candidate Sajith Premadasa today presented his 50-year plan, outlined in his election manifesto titled “සැමට ජයක්” (“A Win for All”), which is based on five core policies: building a resilient economy, empowering every citizen, enhancing government services, protecting quality of life, and safeguarding the nation.
Outlined below are some key relief measures proposed by Premadasa:
- Fiscal Discipline: Strengthening fiscal discipline in line with the IMF agreement, continuing essential reforms to achieve targets for revenue, primary balance, and debt.
- Debt Restructure: In negotiations involving ‘claw back’ clauses benefiting foreign creditors from unexpected GDP growth, Premadasa insists on extending ‘comparability of treatment’ to the EPF, which has suffered due to domestic debt restructuring.
- Central Bank Accountability: While respecting the autonomy granted to the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) under the new Act, the bank will be held fully accountable for achieving its inflation target.
- Tax Code Revision: Revising the current tax code to alleviate the unfair burden forcing professionals to seek employment abroad.
- Personal Income Tax: Personal income tax will start at 1% beyond the tax-free threshold of Rs 100,000 per month and increase to a maximum of 24% on incomes up to around half a million per month.
- Corporate Income Tax: Reducing the current 30% corporate tax rate on export profits by up to 6% and introducing a 15% Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) minimum alternate tax for multinational companies.
- VAT Reduction: Reducing VAT to 15% as tax compliance improves through enhanced Public Digital Infrastructure, widening the tax net.
- Zero-Rated VAT Items: Additional essential food items, consumables, and inputs will be made zero-rated for VAT.
- Excise Adjustments: Adjusting excise taxes on cigarettes, alcohol, and casinos to fund proposed tax reductions.
- Senior Citizen Savings: A guaranteed savings interest rate of up to 15% for senior citizens.
For the full manifesto, visit Sajith Manifesto English.
