No additional tax burden on the people, deputy finance minister says

The government has not increased the tax burden on the people; it has only corrected flaws in an unfair tax system, Deputy Finance Minister Anil Jayantha Fernando has said, rejecting opposition claims circulating on social media about eight recent tax measures.

The 6 percent excise duty increase implemented in January 2025 is not a new tax, he said, but was carried out under the existing inflation indexation mechanism. A 14 percent increase was applied under the same mechanism in 2024, and the government chose not to implement the 2026 adjustment because of the impact of Cyclone Ditwah, he noted.

The change in customs duty on electric vehicles is a restructuring of the duty system, not an additional tax, he said, and the 50 percent surcharge on private vehicle imports is a temporary measure to protect foreign exchange reserves amid the Middle East crisis.

He also addressed the increase in withholding tax deducted at source on interest income from 5 percent to 10 percent, saying the measures were aimed at fairness rather than raising the load on ordinary taxpayers.