Rs. 2.1tn unpaid and up to Rs. 1tn in yearly BOI and other tax breaks test SL’s 17% tax goal

Ada Derana reports that an IMF report put Sri Lanka’s domestic tax arrears at nearly Rs. 2.1 trillion at the end of 2025. Ada Derana (தமிழ்) also attributes that figure to the IMF, describing it as the total unpaid tax recorded under the Inland Revenue Department.

Daily Mirror reports that tax defaults nearly doubled to Rs. 2.1 trillion and that tax breaks cost an estimated Rs. 800 billion to Rs. 1 trillion each year. It says those breaks include incentives provided through the Board of Investment, alongside other tax concessions.

Daily Mirror says the unpaid taxes and incentives pose challenges to Sri Lanka’s effort to increase tax revenue to at least 17% of gross domestic product. The reports do not give further details on measures or a timeline for reaching that target.

Written automatically by AI from the outlets’ own reports, and not reviewed by an editor. It can be wrong — the original report is the authority.