State Minister of Finance Shehan Semasinghe said that receiving the second instalment of the Extended Fund Facility provided by the International Monetary Fund will send a positive message to local and foreign investors about the future economy of Sri Lanka.
The State Minister said that the reason for this is that measures have been taken to implement the proposals presented by the International Monetary Fund, including fighting corruption, maintaining financial discipline, and creating transparency.
Semasinghe was speaking at the seminar “Unlocking the power of taxes” organised by NEXTGEN on Wednesday.
“About US $ 333 million is to be received as the second instalment of the extended fund facility provided by the International Monetary Fund. “The economy of this country has entered the right path. Inflation is coming down and the rupee is becoming stable. We expect the cost of living to come down further after the implementation of the domestic credit optimization program. Also, receiving the second installment of the International Monetary Fund will be more convenient,” he said.
State Minister Semasinghe said that Sri Lanka has properly learned from the crisis, and it is being discussed by the international community. He said that what is happening in the country at present is what was necessary for a sustainable economy which had been expected by various governments for many years, but missed.
He said as a country with anti-corruption laws, a country with transparency, and a country with financial discipline, Sri Lanka has entered the path of receiving the second instalment of the Fund facility of the International Monetary Fund.
The State Minister said that digitalisation of the economy is the most important step to create tax transparency, and added that as a first step, the Inland Revenue Department’s RAMIS system will be fully operational by next month.