Sri Lanka, March 6 -- President Ranil Wickremesinghe revealed the government's intentions to reduce the Value-Added Tax (VAT) in the future, focusing on exempting essential items such as school exercise books, stationery, medicines, and medical equipment from the VAT. This announcement came during his special statement in parliament on Wednesday (March 06), where he briefed the House on Sri Lanka's economic recovery process.

Wickremesinghe emphasized that the decision to impose VAT was not taken lightly but resulted in a significant boost to state revenue, which reached nearly 11% of the GDP. This increase in revenue, he explained, provided assurance to the international community about Sri Lanka's capability to settle outstanding debts....