Sri Lanka’s Inland Revenue Department (IRD) is planning to identify a group of 100 taxpayers with the highest reported income from various streams, to ensure tax compliance of highly wealthy individuals in the nation, it was reported.
According to the Sunday Times, the group is to be identified by reviewing other sources of data, including third-party data such as real estate, Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) reports, bank account details, and information from treaty partners.
The IRD intends to add other individuals to the group for review and ongoing monitoring, as the current measures progress.
IRD Commissioner General W.A. Sepalika Chandrasekara says the measure is being taken as part of efforts to restore fairness and confidence in the country’s tax administration.
The IRD has set up a dedicated office called the High Wealth Individuals Unit (HWIU), a ten-member unit located at the Large Taxpayer Office of the department, which is tasked with contacting a select number of wealthy individuals.
The Unit will work with them and their advisors to ensure that they are up to date with their filings of tax returns as the first step.
To ensure that the wealthy pay the right amount of taxes, the IRD will be conducting additional risk assessments and profiling of wealthy taxpayers, while conducting audits on cases that have the highest risks as well.
The IRD is also set to collaborate with both domestic and international organisations to access information that would help the HWIU to identify potential tax non-compliance. (NewsWire)