Sri Lanka to defer imputed rental tax rejecting IMF condition
A controversial imputed tax on housing promoted by the International Monetary Fund, with rents on second houses already taxed will be deferred, a senior advisor to Sri Lanka President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has said.
The government was also working on a policy of targeted subsidies rather than indiscriminate tax reduction, he said.The imputed rental tax, which was to have been paid on owner-occupied houses and later adjusted to a second house, has been controversial.
There have been warnings that such a tax may discourage the expansion of housing stock where high taxes are already paid on building materials.
“That will be deferred,” Duminda Hulangamuwa, advisor to the President disclosed. The tax was expected to bring around 0.2 percent of revenue.
