Courtesy Hiru News

Labour and Foreign Employment Minister Manusha Nanayakkara says that no tax will be charged for remittances sent to Sri Lanka by migrant workers through the official banking system.

He said this at a press conference held at the Ministry of Labor this morning (13).

Explaining the latest situation regarding the monthly income tax effective from this week, the minister said that the money sent to the country illegally outside the official banking system is not entitled to this tax relief.

The Minister stated that the Central Bank and the Sri Lanka Police have been investigating the people who are illegally sending money to Sri Lanka and have arrested several people.

“The pay as you earn tax system is in operation in this country. The worker who works abroad is subject to that country’s tax policy. Therefore, the tax amount related to that country has been paid from the money they earn. Therefore, we will never charge foreign tax again for the remittances they send to this country. No. It is not ethical to do so. But this tax relief is available only if remittances have been sent to the country in foreign currencies through the official banking system of the country. Otherwise, do not expect tax relief by sending money to the country through other illegal methods. They will definitely come under the new income tax system”. The minister said.

In the meantime, the Minister said that there have been reports of loss of goods sent by foreign workers and regular investigations are being carried out in this regard.

“It is reported that these problems have arisen in private institutions that send goods to Sri Lanka. Therefore, as a new program, we have started a program to scan the goods in the relevant institutions and hand them over to the relevant parties.” The minister also stated.