Supreme Court approves Surcharge Tax

By Yohan Perera
The Supreme Court has given its approval for the Surcharge Tax Bill and has held the view that a simple majority in Parliament could approve it.

“On an overall consideration of the provisions of the Bill, the Supreme Court had arrived at the conclusion that neither the Bill nor any of its provision is inconsistent with Article 12 or Article 13 of the Constitution. The Supreme Court further states that in the circumstances the Bill titled ‘Surcharge Tax’ can be validly passed by a simple majority of the Legislature,” the Speaker’s announcement read by Deputy Speaker Ranjith Siyambalapitiya said. 
The Bill proposed imposing of 25 percent surcharge tax on leading companies. 

In the 2022 Budget, it was proposed to impose a one-off 25 percent Surcharge Tax on individuals or companies whose annual taxable income for 2020/2021 was Rs.2 billion or more. 

Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa told during the budget presentation said that more than 60 companies will be subjected to this tax.