- GMOA meets Health Minister
- Requests for tax concessions for professionals
Despite speculation about proposed tax relief being granted to professionals, the Ministry of Finance denied knowledge of such an initiative, stating that it was unaware of any discussions towards this end.
When contacted by The Sunday Morning, Ministry of Finance Secretary Mahinda Siriwardana stressed that he was not aware of such a discussion regarding a tariff relief for professionals.
When asked whether any form of tariff concession had been discussed during the recent Government meetings held with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Ministry Secretary denied such a discussion, claiming that he was not aware of any such tariff concession plan for any profession.
“I’m yet to be informed if such a discussion was held. I did not attend any such meeting,” Siriwardana said.
Nevertheless, it was recently reported that in a meeting with Minister of Health Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa on 23 November, a request had been made by the Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) for an urgent look into tax relief for doctors.
When contacted by The Sunday Morning, GMOA Media Spokesman Dr. Chamil Wijesinghe said that the tax relief proposed by them was not limited to doctors but also extended to other employees and professionals.
“Currently, the maximum limit of personal income tax is set at 36%. At the recent meeting we had with the Health Minister, he stated that they were ready to amend the system following discussions with the IMF.”
Dr. Wijesinghe added that an initiative to change the current tax structure and an amendment to the Inland Revenue Act were needed for the continuing development of the country’s economy.
From April 2022 to April 2023, personal income tax rates changed from the range of 6-18% to 6-36%. Similarly, corporate income tax is set to be at 30%, effective from April 2023.
Meanwhile, the Joint Council for Professionals of Supplementary Medicine (JCPSM) has held a discussion with the Minister of Health on a number of unresolved issues, including the elimination of the salary discrepancy that has occurred among paramedic graduates, expeditiously recruiting graduates whose recruitment has been suspended, and first-class medical training.
The primary concern about obtaining the remaining portion of the Distribution, Availability, and Transport (DAT) allowance due to all health staff had also been discussed at length.
DAT is an exclusive monthly allowance paid to Government medical doctors in hospitals, given in relation to being asked to attend to warded patients in the hospitals they are posted in while off duty.
According to JCPSM Chairman Ravi Kumudesh, the Minister had also been requested by the council to take steps to prevent the problems in the health service from escalating due to the delay and irregularity of the decisions of the Public Service Commission.