Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa says that the current government’s eagerness to surpass the IMF’s targets is currently creating a connection between tax administration and criminal activities.
He made this statement at a meeting held with tax administration experts and businessmen and other stakeholders in the field at the Opposition Leader’s Office in Colombo.
At the meeting, Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa said that due to this, the government is taking steps to bring in a tax administration that considers tax evasion caused by actions that are not intentionally carried out due to factors such as forgetting a party, illness, or going abroad as non-fulfillment of tax administration conditions.
The Opposition Leader said that this is a violation of fundamental and human rights and that the government is preparing to carry out anti-democratic acts by collecting taxes through the threat of imprisonment.
Pointing out that this action is against democracy, a violation of fundamental and human rights, as well as instilling fear in the business community, Sajith Premadasa stated that this will seriously affect the creation and expansion of new businesses and job creation.
The opposition leader also emphasized that through this action, the government is challenging even the judiciary and violating the Constitution, and that this violates the concept of checks and balances and the separation of powers between the three main democratic institutions, the legislature, the executive and the judiciary.
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