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Govt. hopes tax relief will swell remittances by US$ 2 billion
View(s):With a new scheme to exempt from income tax foreign earnings remitted to the country through banks, the Government hopes to raise an additional US$ two billion, a Finance Ministry official said.
Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera has said foreign remittances sent through banks will be granted tax relief. The concession is applicable to remittances sent from November 15, 2018 onwards.
The Finance Ministry official said the current remittance level of US$ six billion a year was expected to rise with the exemption coming into effect.
He said the Finance Minister in his budget proposals to be announced next month would outline other measures aimed at increasing the annual foreign remittances to about US$ 10 billion.
The official said the Inland Revenue Act would be amended soon to implement the scheme.