By Rathindra Kuruwita
Sri Lanka was now transitioning to a new economic model, breaking away from the previous unsustainable model, Governor of the Central Bank Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe said Sunday.
Addressing the National Law Conference 2023 under the theme ‘NAVIGATING THROUGH CRISIS –THE LAW’S ROLE’, Dr. Weerasinghe said that interest rates were coming down and that there was a clear path going forward.
“However, this is not the end of the story. A lot of people think that things will be going back to normal. No, this is the start of a new journey,” he said.
Dr. Weerasinghe said that Sri Lanka would start an IMF programme soon and that the government has not only promised stabilisation of the economy in the short term but also to increase the capacity of the economy to grow in the medium to long term.
“We will also make important structural reforms.
We should be able to transform the economic model to a new one. We have been living beyond means and this can’t be done,” he said.
Commenting on the tax reforms, the CBSL Governor said that a lot of fixed income earners are affected by the tax increase. Most of the professionals are protesting because they have to pay increased taxes while the income remains the same.
“There is no way for them to avoid taxes. That’s why they protest demanding lower taxes or higher incomes. However, the lawyers are not protesting. Why? It’s because they know how to avoid taxes”, the Governor noted.