Govt unable to reduce taxes imposed on educational materials due to IMF, says MP

National People’s Power (NPP) MP Roshan Akmeemana told Parliament on Wednesday (26) that his administration’s pledge to fully remove taxes on educational materials has been limited by conditions imposed by the International Monetary Fund.

Speaking during the budget debate, Akmeemana acknowledged that while the government intended to ease the tax burden on textbooks and other educational resources, restrictions on reducing value-added tax (VAT) prevented the full implementation of the measure.

“The promise to the public was to eliminate taxes on educational materials, but IMF conditions have placed limits on how far VAT can be reduced,” he said.