CA Sri Lanka’s 4th Annual Economic and Tax Symposium examines pathways to economic recovery through tax reforms

At a time when Sri Lanka stands at a critical economic juncture, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (CA Sri Lanka) convened its 4th Annual Economic and Tax Symposium on 26th June 2025 under the theme “Tax Reforms and Economic Resilience: Driving the Nation to Progress”. The high-level forum brought together key voices from across the public and private sectors, reinforcing CA Sri Lanka’s commitment to shaping national policy through informed dialogue, thought leadership, and forward-thinking solutions in the areas of taxation and economic reform.

Attended by a cross-section of representatives from various industries, practitioners, and students, the symposium was graced by Mr. Heshana Kuruppu, President of CA Sri Lanka; Vice President Mr. Tishan Subasinghe, Members of Council; Ms. Sarah Afker, Chairperson of the Faculty of Taxation; Mr. Saman Siri Lal, Chairman of the Economic and Tax Symposium Committee; and Ms. Lakmali Priyangika, Chief Executive Officer of CA Sri Lanka.

In his speech, Mr. Kuruppu emphasised CA Sri Lanka’s commitment to strengthening economic resilience, enhancing tax compliance, and fostering a fair and efficient tax system. He also addressed recent misconceptions suggesting that accountants facilitate tax evasion, firmly clarifying that members of CA Sri Lanka play a vital role in supporting national tax revenue through responsible and lawful tax planning.

Delivering her speech, Ms. Afker, apprised the audience of the role of the faculty and key initiatives undertaken during the last year. She presented key findings of the 2024 Survey on Public Trust in the Tax System and launched the 2025 Survey.

The keynote address was delivered by Dr. W.A. Wijewardena, former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, who stressed the importance of innovation-led economic growth. He noted that Sri Lanka’s historic average growth rate of 4.1% is insufficient and emphasised the need for at least 8% annual growth to transition into a high-income economy.

The symposium also consisted of four sessions. The first examined Sri Lanka’s current macroeconomic landscape, focusing on the steps required to transition towards a sustainable growth trajectory. The second explored global tax developments and their implications for Sri Lanka. The third highlighted the benefits of digitisation, addressed key industry concerns, and outlined expectations for Budget 2026. The final session focused on the practical challenges faced by taxpayers and the administrative hurdles in achieving effective tax compliance.

During the first session, Dr. Subashini Abeysinghe, Research Director, Verite Research, highlighted trade and investment as central to sustained growth and cited climate change and technological disruption as key external challenges. Dr. Chandranath Amarasekara. Assistant Governor, Central Bank of Sri Lanka, emphasised the need to maintain reform momentum. He cited the new Central Bank Act, Public Financial Management Act, and Anti-Corruption Act as pivotal reforms.

Mr. Arjuna Herath, Chairman, BOI, and Past President, CA Sri Lanka, stressed aligning investment with national development goals, prioritising quality FDI, and the importance of domestic investment.

Mr. Dhanusha Pathirana, economist, called for state-led industrial development inspired by East Asian models, noting low real wages, high inequality, and the need to move beyond static comparative advantage.

During the second session, Mr. P. Pranith, Partner – Global Business Tax, Deloitte India, shared insights on digital economy taxation, global minimum tax, and geopolitical influences on tax policy.

Ms. Thanuja Perera, Tax Policy Advisor, Ministry of Finance, outlined the implementation of VAT on digital services by non-resident companies, effective 1 October 2025, aiming for a level playing field.

Mr. Sulaiman Nisthar, Head of Tax, EY, recommended an online compliance unit for foreign digital service providers and spoke on aligning transfer pricing regulations with OECD standards. Mr. Sudarshan Kasturirangan, Regional Programme Specialist for Asia Pacific, UNDP Tax, noted new UN model provisions for taxing digital services and nomads.

During the third session, Mr. Nihal Wijewardena, Senior Deputy Commissioner, Department of Inland Revenue, highlighted that there are existing provisions in the Inland Revenue Act on cash transactions affecting income tax deductions and asset cost recognition but noted that there was limited awareness among the taxpaying public relating to these. Mr. Ravindra Dissanayake, Chief Operating Officer, Citrus Leisure PLC, highlighted tax revenue potential from the tourism sector, particularly unregulated accommodations and online travel agencies.

Ms. Anoji De Silva, Partner, EY, Council Member, CA Sri Lanka, and Immediate Past Chairperson, Women’s Chamber of Industry & Commerce, highlighted that SMEs contribute 52% to GDP and employ 45% of the workforce, yet a large segment remains unregistered. To improve SME tax compliance, she proposed simplified structures, lower rates, taxpayer privilege cards, and better visibility of benefits received in return for taxes paid. Mr. Prabash Galagedara, Strategic AI Advisor, described Australia’s automated tax system with pre-populated returns using single-touch payroll and connected banking systems. Mr. Waruna Madawanarachchi, Managing Director, Agri Cluster – CIC Holdings PLC, highlighted that the R&D spending in Sri Lanka was very low, only around 0.01% of GDP, compared to Asian countries, and this negatively impacts export opportunities for niche products.

The fourth session brought together Mr. N, R. Gajendran, Senior Partner, Gajma & Co, Mr. Denzil Rodrigo, Managing Director – ECI Tax Chambers, and Mr. Athula Ranaweera, Managing Partner – Ranaweera Associates, who responded to questions and counter questions posed by Ms. Dinusha Rajapakse, Partner – Tax Services – BDO, Ms. Rifka Ziyard, Principal Tax – KPMG, and Mr. Sanka De Alwis, Senior Manager – Crevaty.  Discussions included the abolition of SVAT, arbitrary assessments, delays in granting WHT credits, imposition of notional interest, and interest without caps, highlighting the need for balanced enforcement.

As in previous years, CA Sri Lanka will compile all recommendations from the symposium and submit it to the Ministry of Finance in August as part of the Institute’s budget proposals. Rocell and Emerald supported the event as Gold Sponsors, while Lanka Ashok Leyland came on board as a Silver Sponsor, and Denta and Toyota Lanka as Bronze Sponsors.