Sri Lanka, Feb. 11 -- Former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) Dr. W.A. Wijewardena is of the view that the government is constrained by its agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the benchmarks set by the Economic Transformation Act, making it challenging to achieve the targeted revenue of 15.1% of GDP this year.

He expressed that the government should introduce new taxes to achieve the revenue targets set for the year in order to not lose the fourth tranche of the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) Extended Fund Facility (EFF) program.

"The government of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has been constrained in its budgetary policy formulation by two factors which have been beyond its control....