@article{Stern:294839,
      recid = {294839},
      author = {Stern, Nicholas},
      title = {Tax Reform in Sri Lanka},
      address = {1993-09},
      number = {2282-2019-4197},
      series = {IPR76},
      pages = {50},
      year = {1993},
      abstract = {Sri Lanka stands at a crucial stage in a programme of  stabilisation and adjustment which started in the late  1980s. Fiscal pressures are severe with government revenue  around 21% and expenditures around 31% of GDP in 1990 and  1991 (although expenditure has been reduced to around 28%  in 1992, largely through cuts on the capital side). A  programme of fiscal adjustment would seem to require both a  substantial decrease in expenditure and a substantial  increase in revenue. The purpose of the paper is to  describe possible sources of revenue expansion, in part by  drawing on international comparisons. Sri Lanka's direct  taxes contribute very weakly, as a fraction of both GDP and  revenue, relative to other countries. Expansion of the  personal income tax could provide a major contribution to  extra revenue. Advance on corporate tax tevenue will depend  on the closing of loopholes from exemptions and holidays  which have proliferated. The VAT previously announced for  April 1994 (now postponed to April 1995) would be a  positive development but cannot by itself be expected to  raise the extra revenue which appears necessary, and indeed  will have to be well administered to replace revenue from  existing turnover taxes. The introduction of the VAT, if  well-planned, can help in the collection of the personal  income tax.},
      url = {http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/294839},
      doi = {https://doi.org/10.22004/ag.econ.294839},
}