SC determines IR Bill merits referendum
View(s):The Supreme Court has determined that certain clauses in the new Inland Revenue Bill are inconsistent with the Constitution and thus needs approval through a 2/3rds majority of parliament or referendum.
Speaker Karu Jayasuriya informed parliament on Friday that the court has held that the bill needs to approved by a parliamentary majority or merits a referendum unless certain clauses are amended.
The new bill, seen radicalising Sri Lanka’s tax revenue structure, is a joint collaboration between the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and local authorities, the fund said defending claims that it was an ‘entirely IMF-driven product.
The IMF has already disbursed the third tranche of US$167.2 million from the $1.5 billion Sri Lanka’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF) to Sri Lanka as the government has submitted the draft bill to Parliament as a prior action required for the release of the tranche.