COLOMBO, Aug 30(ABC):Cash-strapped Sri Lanka’s president announced further tax hikes and sweeping reforms on Tuesday, saying that bailout talks with the International Monetary Fund were in the “final stage”.
The country of 22 million people has suffered months of dire shortages and protests culminating in the ouster of Gotabaya Rajapaksa last month.
Presenting a new budget, his successor Ranil Wickremesinghe said Tuesday that Value Added Tax (VAT) would rise from 12 to 15% for all goods and services from Thursday.