The Hon. Waruna Liyanage
Waruna Liyanage raised concerns about the impact of the 18% tax on the gem sector, stating that it has caused serious adverse effects. He said taxes on the assessed value of gem imports have halted imports from African countries and left around 3,000 Sri Lankan entrepreneurs in the cutting and polishing sector without opportunities. He urged the Minister to address the issue, recalling prior requests to remove the tax.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 If possible, please give me one more minute. There are serious issues in the gem sector to raise.
¶ 02 We earlier requested the removal of the 18% tax. We believed you would do that. Due to that tax, severe adverse effects have occurred.
¶ 03 For gem imports, tax is now levied on the assessed value. Imports from African countries have stopped. About 3,000 Sri Lankan entrepreneurs in the cut-and-polish sector are now without opportunities. There is much more to say, Hon. Minister.
Provenance
- Source
- Hansard, Tuesday, 18 March 2025 ·No. 1745915246032615 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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/lk/speeches/8530
Cite as: The Hon. Waruna Liyanage. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 18 March 2025. No. 1745915246032615. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/8530