2.1 Income Tax
Income Tax revenue, in nominal terms, declined significantly by 37.3 percent or Rs. 159.5 billion to Rs. 268.2 billion in 2020 from Rs. 427.7 billion in 2019 owing to the revision of tax rates, thresholds and slabs and the impact of the pandemic. This marked a decline in income tax revenue to GDP ratio to 1.8 percent in 2020 from 3.0 percent in 2019. Revenue from income tax increased by 12.6 percent to Rs. 302.1 billion in 2021 from Rs. 268.2 billion in 2020. However, income tax revenue to GDP ratio remains low at 1.8 percent in 2021.
The high tax exemption threshold and the expenditure relief together with the low tax rates have impacted the revenue performance in 2020 and 2021. Hence, revising PIT rates progressively would raise PIT revenue considerably. In consideration of the above, the following proposals are made.
ඉවරයි නේද පුතා ලා ...........
Income Tax revenue, in nominal terms, declined significantly by 37.3 percent or Rs. 159.5 billion to Rs. 268.2 billion in 2020 from Rs. 427.7 billion in 2019 owing to the revision of tax rates, thresholds and slabs and the impact of the pandemic. This marked a decline in income tax revenue to GDP ratio to 1.8 percent in 2020 from 3.0 percent in 2019. Revenue from income tax increased by 12.6 percent to Rs. 302.1 billion in 2021 from Rs. 268.2 billion in 2020. However, income tax revenue to GDP ratio remains low at 1.8 percent in 2021.
- a) Personal Income Tax (PIT)
The high tax exemption threshold and the expenditure relief together with the low tax rates have impacted the revenue performance in 2020 and 2021. Hence, revising PIT rates progressively would raise PIT revenue considerably. In consideration of the above, the following proposals are made.
- Reduction of the personal relief from Rs. 3 million to Rs. 1.8 million effective from October 1, 2022.
- Revision of Personal Income Tax Rates effective from October 1, 2022 as detailed in the table below:
| Taxable Income (Rs.) | Rate (%) |
| First 1.2 million | 4 |
| Next 1.2 million | 8 |
| Next 1.2 million | 12 |
| Next 1.2 million | 16 |
| Next 1.2 million | 20 |
| Next 1.2 million | 24 |
| Next 1.2 million | 28 |
| On the balance | 32 |
ඉවරයි නේද පුතා ලා ...........