Joint Opposition’s Parliamentarian Bandula Gunawardana stated that the third tranche of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) loan was granted to Sri Lanka as a result of the National Inland Revenue Act which was presented to the Parliament.

He stated this at a press conference of the Joint Opposition today (19).

Gunawardana further remarked that the media had blown the news about the third tranche out of proportion, and explained that it was merely a continuation of an existing loan scheme, and not a new loan altogether.

The former minister added that the Government had introduced the Inland Revenue Act for the purpose of increasing revenue, according to the agreement arrived at with the IMF.

He proceeded to state that the present Government had introduced this new taxation policy in an attempt to sabotage all forms of tax relief provided by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa during his tenure as the Finance Minister, and clarified that state-sponsored relief was also included under the new Act.

Bandula Gunawardana further expounded by stating that the IMF had put forth several primary conditions governing the loan scheme, including bridging the gap in the national budget and increasing foreign exchange reserves.