Amendments to exempt EPF and ETF from Surcharge Tax to be introduced at Committee Stage

The government plans to introduce the necessary amendments to exempt the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF), Employees’ Trust Fund (ETF) and other pension funds from the proposed 25 percent one-time  Surcharge Tax when the Surcharge Tax Bill is  debated at the Committee Stage in Parliament, according to Trade Minister Bandula Gunewardena.
Joining the post-Cabinet press briefing on Tuesday, he stressed that Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa has given the assurance that the EPF and ETF would be exempted from the proposed Surcharge Tax.
He blamed the previous regime for the confusion, noting that it was the previous Yahapalana government that had included pension funds under the definition of a ‘company’ in Inland Revenue Act No. 24 of 2017.
Gunewardane pointed out that the amendments to exempt the EPF, ETF and other funds from the proposed Surcharge Tax can only be brought forward when the Surcharge Tax Bill is taken up in Parliament.“Our government is committed to protecting the EPF and ETF,” he added.

He remarked that the 25 percent one-off Surcharge Tax would only be levied on individuals or companies that have earned over Rs.2 billion in taxable income for FY2020/2021.
According to Rajapaksa, less than 70 individuals and companies would be subjected to the retrospective tax and the government aims to collect Rs.105 billion revenue from the tax.