A | Colombo, Oct 20 (UNI) Amid growing criticism, Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe has justified a hike in income tax for both corporates and individuals, saying it was for the greater good of the country and critical to garner much needed financial support from the international community. In an address to the nation, the President said the International Monetary Fund (IMF) with which the government has signed a Staff Level Agreement for a $2.9 billion four-year financial support, advised the need for a surplus in Sri Lanka’s primary budget, the Daily FT reported on Thursday. “It was agreed to since the country needs the support of the IMF,” he was quoted him as saying. “It was also decided to increase the country’s income from 8.5 per cent to 14.5 per cent of the GDP. However, it is a difficult task to accomplish immediately, it is envisaged to achieve this by 2026. "Initially, a decision had to be taken on the manner in which the income is to be increased. Money was printed due to the decrease in income. During the past two years, Rs. 2,300 billion has been printed, resulting in inflation rising to 70-75 per cent and even more in respect of food inflation," he said. Wickremesinghe said these increases need to be controlled, while securing income. Therefore, during the discussions with the IMF a new tax system was proposed. The IMF informed that even the export industries would be required to pay taxes. The IMF pointed out that in countries with an export economy, the related industries were liable for tax. The IMF also upheld that Sri Lanka’s primary export economy is based on the plantation industry. During British rule, taxes were charged from every plantation sector, including tea, coconut and rubber. Therefore, if the country has to move towards that goal, taxes will have to be paid. The export sector has now questioned this aspect and the related concerns are to be submitted to the IMF. Referring to the issue of higher personal income taxation, the President said the majority of tax revenue was through indirect taxation. The majority of the country’s citizens, even those below the poverty line, had no choice but to pay indirect taxes, the President said. The direct tax revenue was 20 per cent and 80 per cent has been derived from indirect taxes. The IMF had reservations in this regard and said the amount of tax obtained through direct taxes should exceed 20 per cent. The IMF noted that otherwise this would not be successful and ordinary citizens would need to pay taxes, the President said. Therefore, the Treasury and the IMF discussed the possibility of limiting the taxation from those who have an income of Rs. 200,000, which did not materialise. Eventually, this resulted in the decision to levy income tax on people earning over 100,000. This has become a vital concern amongst citizens. But without this tax system, the desired goal will not be achieved. The agreed goal is to achieve 14.5-15 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) revenue by 2026, Wickremesinghe said. If Sri Lanka withdraws from this programme, IMF assistance will not be received. Without IMF certification, the support of institutions such as the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and the countries that have supported financially will not be forthcoming. Then, Sri Lanka will be back to the era of queues, he warned. In his address, Wickremesinghe also said the Government was ready to implement prudent economic management after successful debt restructuring. He noted that it was not possible to strengthen the economy without increasing the revenue of the country, which will compel him to reluctantly make tough decisions in order to rebuild the nation. The President pointed out how in November 2019, the country’s taxes were drastically reduced, reducing the government revenue to 8.5 per cent. This was when the IMF set aside the agreements with Colombo and declared that it was unable to provide the agreed assistance. "That year the government lost approximately Rs. 600-700 billion as revenue. Simultaneously, the country had to face the Covid-19 pandemic. These issues are the main factors that led to the collapse of Sri Lanka’s economy. "The country at this juncture is facing a difficult period. Expectedly tough decisions have to be taken during these difficult times. I undertook this challenge when no one else was willing to come forward." UNI MR。
B | 美联储主席鲍威尔最近在怀俄明州杰克逊霍尔的演讲中强调了美联储的鹰派立场。他指出，美联储与通胀的斗争将“带来一些痛苦”。许多人担心美联储加息，包括参议员伊丽莎白沃伦（D-MA），她表示她“非常担心”美联储的行动将使美国经济陷入衰退。马斯克的推文是在方舟投资首席执行官凯茜伍德（Cathie Wood）的分析之后发布的，她周三警告通货紧缩。“美联储正在根据滞后指标做出货币政策决策：就业和核心通胀，”她详细阐述道：
D | 马斯克在八月份表示，通货膨胀已经达到顶峰，“将迅速下降”。他还预测，我们可能会经历持续约18个月的经济衰退。美国的通胀正在失控，当前美国需要想尽一切办法来避免通胀失控，美国想要控制通胀的唯一根本办法就是加息，而且是大幅加息，根本控制不住通胀。
E | 但问题在于跟上世纪80年代不同，当时美国债务水平很低，所以美联储哪怕一口气加息到20%，对于美国政府的债务压力也没有太大影响，但是当前美国的债务总额高达28.3万亿美金，一旦加息就会严重影响美国后续借新还旧的成本。当前美国股市泡沫化如此严重，一旦加息将同时戳破美国股市和债务的泡沫，必然导致美国金融市场全面崩盘，这是美国同样无法承受的灾难性结果。艰难的时期会带来真正的友谊，那些在熊市期间仍然在磨炼和学习的人是那些将长期留在这个行业的人，他们和你一起渡过难关，牛熊。
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