duang

厦航新开两条国际航线 9月可直飞伦敦和沙巴_我的网站

工商银行

一 | 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。 AI摘要厦门航空9月将开通厦门至伦敦、沙巴两条国际航线。厦门—伦敦每周3班，厦门—沙巴每周4班，提升福建与欧洲、马来西亚的空中联通效率。记者近日了解到，厦门航空9月将开通两条国际航线，分别为厦门至伦敦直飞航线、厦门至沙巴（哥打基纳巴卢）航线。作为福建首条直飞英国的客运航线，9月6日厦门—伦敦航线开通后将结束福建与英国往来需经第三地中转的历史。该航线由波音787宽体客机执飞，每周三、周五、周日各执行一班。去程航班MF821于00:50从厦门起飞，06：35（当地时间）抵达伦敦希思罗机场；回程航班MF822于12：35（当地时间）从伦敦出发，次日07：00返回厦门。这条航线的开通，不仅填补了福建直飞英国重要航空枢纽的空白，而且为我省对接欧洲核心市场搭建了高效便捷的空中桥梁。厦航还将于9月23日开通厦门—沙巴（哥打基纳巴卢）航线，每周4班（周一、周三、周五、周日），由波音737-800执飞。

二 | 去程MF8641于08：45从厦门起飞，12：05抵达沙巴；回程MF8642于13：05起飞，16：40返回厦门。此前，厦航已于2025年9月复航福州—沙巴航线（每日一班）。厦门—沙巴航线开通后，将形成福建双口岸直飞沙巴的格局，极大便利旅客前往马来西亚热门旅游目的地，也为两地商贸往来提供更多选择。