By Yohan Perera and Ajith Siriwardana  

Current state revenue in Sri Lanka has declined so much it is only sufficient to cover half of recurrent expenditure,  Acting Finance Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya told Parliament yesterday.  

“ Total state revenue was 8.7 percent of GDP in 2020 while it was 8.3 percent in 2021. Today the state revenue is sufficient only to cover half of the recurrent expenditure,” the Acting Minister said.  

“ Tax cuts in 2019 including the wavering of PAYE tax had contributed to the decline of state expenditure in 2020,” the Minister revealed.  

Coming up with more details on state revenue , he said revenue collecting institutions will meet the revenue targets despite setbacks. “ The Excise Department has not been able to collect much of revenue as consumption of legal liquor has declined by 20 percent currently. However we have given targets and Excise Department is on the way to meet revenue targets,” he added.  

Mr. Siyambalapitiya said around two million direct tax files will have to be opened if the country is to increase tax revenue to 15 percent of the total revenue.