The only solution is not to increase the tax burden but to increase the range of taxpayers

Foreigners’ instructions are not necessary to   rebuild the country

If the 2015 operation   continued, the country would have been developed today

Former Finance Minister and Colombo District United National Party Leader Ravi Karunanayake has emphasized that what should be done to recover the country from the economic crisis is not to increase the tax burden of the people but to increase the range of people who pay taxes and he further says.

"The International Monetary Fund has said this time, as they have been saying for many years, that this country needs financial discipline and everyone needs to support it. What we need to do at this moment is to increase the range of people who pay taxes. Increasing the range of taxpayers,   does not mean collecting more tax from the taxpayers but increasing the number of taxpayers.

According to my analysis, in the first phase, the International Monetary Fund has seen some of our weaknesses, but we do not need them to reveal our mistakes.  As a country, we at some point reduced the number of the tax files. If so, what should be done at this moment is to increase the number of tax files and collect more taxes. The number of tax files should be increased as soon as possible for the rapid development of the country.

If the journey that we started in 2015 continued, this country will never go bankrupt and the volume of taxes paid will also increase and the country would have been developed.    Increasing the tax burden is not affordable for the country and the people. What we need to do is to increase the tax paying area and levy an affordable tax on the people.

Simply because the International Monetary Fund said, we cannot increase the taxes imposed on the people by 50% or 60% at all. People must be able to pay. Must be fair. Everyone should contribute to this.

There is an affordable tax limit for small and medium businessmen. These people have not been able to bear the huge increase in the interest rate. All this should be practical. Government officials should know how to discuss and solve this problem. If we want to earn 100 rupees, we need to know how to earn it. We don't need foreigners to tell us how to do it.  

It is the concept of late President JR Jayawardene that is suitable to our country. In 1977, he linked  the country with the world through the concept of open economy in order to modernize it. At a time when the closed economies were collapsing everywhere in the world, he introduced the open economy and took the country forward by developing it.

Politicians are just bragging. These people only attack people who work and can   work. To rebuild the country, we all have to work hard and work as one. The awareness of the people of the country should be increased as much as possible. There should be an end to the brain drain."