Sri Lanka's opposition leader says the rich will pay more if he wins the presidential election
Sri Lanka’s opposition leader says if he wins the presidential race he will renegotiate the International Monetary Fund economic reforms package to ensure that rich residents pay more taxes and poor ones see their conditions improve
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka’s opposition leader said Thursday that if he wins the country's presidential race, he will renegotiate the International Monetary Fund economic reforms package to ensure rich residents pay more taxes and poor ones see their conditions improve.
Sajith Premadasa, the opposition leader in Parliament told The Associated Press in an interview that his party has already started discussions with the IMF to find ways to ease people's tax burden. The reforms were introduced after Sri Lanka defaulted on its foreign debt creating the worst economic crisis in its history.
“We will be embarking on the third path, the middle path, the path is where wealth is created, the country grows and the wealth is equitably distributed,” Premadasa said.
He said there needs to be “fundamental changes” to the current agreement between the IMF and Sri Lanka's government, done in a more “humanistic manner” to ensure that the burden on the people is lessened.
