Sri Lanka’s opposition leader says the rich will pay more if he becomes president next week

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka’s opposition leader contesting the presidential election next week said Thursday that if he comes to power he will renegotiate with the International Monetary Fund the 2022 economic reforms package to ensure that the rich pay more taxes and the poor see their conditions improve. The reforms were introduced after Sri Lanka defaulted on its foreign debt creating the worst economic crisis in its history.

Sajith Premadasa, the opposition leader in Parliament told The Associated Press in an interview that his party has already started discussions with the IMF to find ways to ease the tax burden on the people.

“We will be embarking on the third path, the middle path, the path is where wealth is created, the country grows and the wealth is equitably distributed,” Premadasa said.

He said there needs to be “fundamental changes” to the current agreement between the IMF and Sri Lanka’s government but those should be in a more “humanistic manner” to ensure that the burden on the people is lessened.

“And if there are burdens that have to be imposed, the super-rich and the rich have to disproportionately take a bigger share of the burden rather than the working men and women of Sri Lanka.”

Sri Lanka is in the middle of reforms and a debt restructuring program under an IMF agreement whereby taxes have been increased to boost state revenue. After the island nation defaulted on its foreign debt in 2022, borrowing was reduced and the printing of new currency notes was stopped by law.

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