Press briefing of Cabinet Decision taken on 2016-06-14

Reintroduction of Capital Gains Tax (CGT) Regime

- During the last few decades, there has been a massive increase in the private capital of the country. The increase in prices of lands attributable to the large infrastructure developments such as road development carried out through Government funds have enabled the land owners to make significant capital gains free of taxation. This has resulted in an increase in the inequality of income distribution. In order to rectify this situation, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Management has agreed to reintroduce the Capital Gains Tax and accordingly, the proposal made by Hon. Ranil Wickremasinghe, the Prime Minister, in his capacity as the Chairman of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Management, to draft a New Capital Gains Tax Regime, was approved by the Cabinet.