INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The Chairman of the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) MP Dr
Harsha de Silva states that a casino regulatory authority should immediately be established if licenses are to be granted for operating
casinos within Sri Lanka.Speaking in the parliament this morning (Nov
28), the SJB parliamentarian emphasized that the COPF did not grant approval for the regulations under the Casino Business (Regulation) Act,
regarding the matter, through the Casino Business (Regulation) Act.Moreover, MP Harsha de Silva mentioned that it is important to inform the
committee at least roughly regarding when the relevant regulatory authority will be brought in.Meanwhile the matter had been taken up when
the COPF met recently, and the members of the Committee were of the opinion that it would be best to consider the approval after making it
provision to operate the casino apart from the tax paid to the Inland Revenue Department and as a preliminary step they have taken measures
to issue these licenses.There was a long discussion in the committee regarding a number of issues related to the fact that there is no clear
understanding of whether these casino businesses are paying the relevant taxes, how much tax has been collected by the government or not,
and whether there is no proper regulation regarding the existing casino businesses apart from the 04 registered casino businesses, according
to the PMD.Accordingly, the Committee on Public Finance had decided to conduct a comparative study in this regard and reconsider the matter.
This article first appeared/also appeared in https://adaderana.lk
