IRD Reintroduces Taxpayer Privilege Cards 👏👏

⭕ After a ~10-year hiatus, the IRD has decided to reintroduce Taxpayer Privilege Cards.

⭕ If you have paid taxes in excess of 3 million in the 2024/25 financial year, you can apply for the card.

- Silver Card: For those who paid taxes above 3 million.
- Gold Card: above 5 million.

⭕ At present, the benefits are mainly limited to meetings with the IRD Commissioner and officers etc. Going forward, the government should expand these benefits as a positive tool to improve tax compliance through incentives and recognition, rather than solely relying on traditional approaches based on enforcement and penalties.

⭕ The government should set the number of cards issued each year as a Key Performance Indicator (KPI) for the IRD, as it would serve as a strong metric to measure public tax compliance. This would also encourage the IRD to actively expand the benefits of the programme in collaboration with other stakeholders and establish it as a key pillar of Sri Lanka’s 🇱🇰 tax system.

⭕ We have been strong advocates for this for years, even during the time it was all forgotten. It is wonderful to see it being brought back. Kudos to the IRD!

⭕ Application deadline for the 2024/25 financial year is 28th February 2026. If you are eligible, please apply.

more info: https://www.ird.gov.lk/en/publications/sitepages/issuing%20of%20privilege%20cards.aspx

#SriLanka #TaxCompliance #IRD