The Hon. (Prof.) Ruwan Ranasinghe
Hon. (Prof.) Ruwan Ranasinghe said regulation of online accommodation platforms must be handled carefully because many small guesthouses depend on them for bookings and could be harmed if platforms delist properties in response to taxation measures. He stated that discussions have begun with the platforms to bring them into a tax payment framework, which would support oversight, and that SLTDA is implementing registration to bring informal accommodation providers into compliance.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 It is sensitive because, for example, many small guesthouses—say in Ella—depend almost entirely on these platforms to sell their 10 or so rooms. A previous Government attempted to impose taxes—such as VAT—on them; in response, platforms threatened to delist such properties, which would devastate small operators who lack resources for global marketing. Therefore, we must handle it prudently.
¶ 02 We have begun discussions with these platforms on bringing them onto a tax payment framework; once they are on a tax payment system, we believe we can bring them under effective oversight. We are also implementing a registration process to bring currently informal providers into compliance through SLTDA.
Provenance
- Source
- Hansard, Tuesday, 5 May 2026 ·No. 23546 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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/lk/speeches/19708
Cite as: The Hon. (Prof.) Ruwan Ranasinghe. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 5 May 2026. No. 23546. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/19708