世界银行-斯里兰卡发展动态，2023年10月：调动税收创造更光明的未来（英）-2023.10-40页_2mb

报告摘要

Sri Lanka Development Update: Mobilizing Tax Revenue for a Brighter Future

Executive Summary

The report examines Sri Lanka's severe economic crisis, driven by fiscal indiscipline, low tax revenue, and unsustainable debt. With a tax-to-GDP ratio of 7.3% in 2022—among the lowest globally—the country faces challenges in achieving fiscal sustainability. The 2022-23 reforms included raising tax rates, broadening the tax base, and improving administration, leading to nominal revenue increases. Recommendations focus on implementing a minimum corporate tax, strengthening capital taxation, rationalizing incentives, and modernizing tax systems for better compliance and equity.

Key Findings

Tax Performance: Sri Lanka's tax system is inefficient and inequitable, with low rates, frequent changes, and administration weaknesses. Indirect taxes dominate, but the base is narrow, contributing to revenue shortfalls.
Economic Context: The crisis stemmed from low revenue mobilization exacerbating fiscal deficits and unsustainable debt, with impacts on growth, poverty, and human capital.
Reforms in Place: Recent measures include higher VAT rates (15% in 2023), increased CIT rates (30%), and reinstatement of withholding taxes. These boosted revenues but not enough to meet budget targets.
Recommendations:
- Impose a minimum CIT on book profits to mitigate exemptions.
- Strengthen capital taxation through progressive rates, wealth/gift/inheritance taxes.
- Rationalize tax exemptions and publish tax expenditure statements.
- Modernize tax administration via e-filing, third-party information use, and IT upgrades.
Outlook: Continued reforms are essential for revenue growth, debt sustainability, and equitable development, addressing both immediate stabilization needs and long-term structural issues.