President's Secretary Urges Immediate Action to Ease PAYE Tax Load on Sri Lankan Workers

The Secretary to the President has called for urgent measures to relieve the mounting burden placed on employees subjected to the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) tax system, signalling growing concern at the highest levels of the executive over the financial strain facing salaried workers across Sri Lanka.

A Call From the Top

The appeal, coming directly from the President's Secretariat, underscores the seriousness with which the administration is now treating complaints from workers and employers alike regarding the impact of PAYE tax deductions on take-home pay. The call reflects mounting pressure on the government to revisit tax thresholds and structures that many argue have disproportionately affected middle-income earners.

What Is PAYE Tax?

PAYE, or Pay As You Earn, is a mechanism through which income tax is deducted directly from an employee's salary before it is paid out. While designed to streamline tax collection, critics have argued that recent adjustments to the system have left many ordinary workers with significantly reduced earnings, particularly in the context of Sri Lanka's ongoing economic recovery.

Growing Discontent Among Workers

Salaried employees across both the public and private sectors have voiced frustration over the increasing tax deductions, with many reporting that the current rates render their monthly incomes insufficient to meet rising living costs. The cost-of-living crisis, which has persisted following Sri Lanka's economic downturn in recent years, has made the issue all the more acute.

• Middle-income workers have been among the hardest hit by existing PAYE thresholds.
• Private sector employers have flagged difficulties in retaining staff due to reduced net salaries.
• Trade unions and employee associations have repeatedly lobbied for threshold revisions.

What Happens Next?

The intervention by the President's Secretary is expected to prompt discussions between relevant government ministries, including the Ministry of Finance, and tax authorities. Observers suggest that any meaningful relief could take the form of revised tax brackets, increased exemption thresholds, or targeted concessions for lower and middle-income salary bands.

Relief on the PAYE tax burden has become a matter of urgency, with the President's Secretariat now formally entering the conversation alongside finance policymakers.

As Sri Lanka continues its path toward economic stabilisation, the government faces the delicate task of maintaining revenue targets agreed upon with international creditors while simultaneously addressing the very real hardships faced by working citizens. The outcome of these discussions is expected to be closely watched by both the public and the business community in the weeks ahead.