10th Parliament· 154 sittings on record · 30,475 speeches · latest 10 June 2026

Hon. (Prof.) Anil Jayantha

Jathika Jana balawegaya· Gampaha· 4 March 2025 ·Procedural: Ministerial Statement: Online Safety Act and tax on export services

Public Finance
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Hon. (Prof.) Anil Jayantha clarified that casino operators are not tax-exempt and described the issue as one of non-declaration, non-payment, and avoidance across multiple sectors and professions. He said the Government intends to reduce these practices gradually by creating a fairer, simpler, and more convenient tax payment system, including through digital technology, while allowing for cases where taxpayers may be unable to pay immediately.

Verbatim record (translated)

Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English

¶ 01 No, no. They are not exempt from tax; that is a misinterpretation. In business, many do not declare. Some in other professions too. Non‑payment and avoidance are realities. We must minimize this and move forward. It cannot be done in one stroke. We will address it. Not only casino operators; there are others not paying. We must create a fair and convenient way to pay. Sometimes people may be unable to pay. We will, with digital technology, move to a fairer, simpler, more convenient system. It cannot be done overnight, but we will intervene as needed.

Provenance

Source
Hansard, Tuesday, 4 March 2025 ·No. 1742359468086980 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Permalink
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Cite as: Hon. (Prof.) Anil Jayantha. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 4 March 2025. No. 1742359468086980. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/10248