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  • 2023-01-27 (xsd:date)
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  • Old Sri Lankan departure levy misleadingly shared as new rule in 2023 (en)
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  • As Sri Lanka grappled with an unprecedented economic crisis, social media users shared a misleading claim that the government decided to impose a new levy of $60 on those leaving the country by ship or by plane. But an official told AFP that the tax was not new and has existed since 2003. New $60 levy on persons travelling abroad, reads the Sinhala-language post shared here on Facebook on January 18, 2023. Let us celebrate, it goes on to say sarcastically. The claim began to circulate online after Sri Lanka's local media outlets reported the government would revise levies on those leaving the country in order to increase state revenue. Sri Lanka has been hit with the worst economic crisis it faced since its independence in 1948. The island nation defaulted on its $46 billion of public debt while it negotiated for an International Monetary Fund bailout. Screenshot of the misleading Facebook post, captured on January 24, 2023. The claim was also shared on Facebook here and here . Social media comments suggested some users believed that the levy was a new measure. This government already makes it difficult to live in the country, and now they are also making it more difficult to leave. Soon, they will begin taxing us for bodily functions such as breathing, one user wrote. This is a tremendous disappointment. The excuse will be that the IMF will not provide a bailout unless we impose new taxes on everything, said another. However, the claim is misleading. Levy revision P. A. Jayakantha , CEO of Sri Lanka's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), said the levy was not new and has existed since 2003. The January 11 gazette was only issued to notify a few revisions to the embarkation levy in certain select airports and clarify the fee structure, Jayakantha told AFP on January 24. According to the gazette dated January 11, 2023, all passengers -- including foreign nationals -- departing from Jaffna or Ratmalana International Airport would be charged $30. Travellers leaving from other airports or seaports would be charged $60, except for those using the Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport -- for which the levy has been waived since December 2022. No mention of a new embarkation tax was made. The CAA also issued a statement on January 21 to clarify rules on its embarkation levies. It made no mention of implementing a new embarkation levy on departing passengers. Screenshot of the gazette issued on January 11, 2023. It also referred to a number of gazettes published between 2012 and 2022 that showed changes in embarkation levies. In 2012 , any passengers leaving Sri Lanka by plane were charged $25 regardless of how long they left the country, while those leaving by ship were charged $5. The tax was raised to $60 for both groups in 2019, but the government agreed to halve the fee for those departing from the Jaffna and Ratmalana airports in March 2022. (en)
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