The Hon. (Prof.) Anil Jayantha - Minister of Labour and Deputy Minister of Economic Development

¶ 01 Hon. Speaker, I thank you for allowing me to raise this matter of privilege.

¶ 02 The Appropriation Bill for 2025 has been presented to Parliament and is now before the Committee Stage debate.

¶ 03 Furthermore, to amend the Inland Revenue Act, No. 24 of 2017 to make the existing income tax more people-friendly, a Bill was published in the Gazette on 21.02.2025 and had its First Reading in Parliament on 01.03.2025.

¶ 04 While it has been publicly stated in Parliament and to the media that no income tax will be levied on remittances sent by overseas workers, on Sunday, 02 March 2025, the newspaper “Sathi Aga Aruna” carried a main headline article by one Saliya Kumara Gunasekara stating “15% tax for foreign workers,” attributing it to me as Deputy Minister of Economic Development. This has damaged my reputation and violates the privileges of all Hon. Members representing the Government benches, including myself. Such reporting undermines parliamentary privilege, discourages lawful remittances by migrant workers, promotes illegal channels, stirs public anger, and attempts to create instability in the country.

¶ 05 Accordingly, I kindly request that all persons responsible for publishing this report in breach of parliamentary privilege be summoned urgently before the Committee on Ethics and Privileges and that appropriate legal action be taken.