The collection of the acre levy on agricultural land has been suspended by the government, according to Agriculture Minister Mahinda Amaraweera. This decision was made during a discussion with the Development Officers on the 12th of yesterday. The acre levy is a tax imposed on agricultural land at a rate of Rs. 100 per acre, which is collected by the Agrarian Development Department through Development Officers. The collected amount is added to the government’s revenue. However, President Ranil Wickremesinghe stated in a Cabinet meeting that there is no need to collect this tax, especially considering that the government spends more money to collect it than the income received from it. The Minister also mentioned that steps will be taken to completely suspend the acre levy in the future. In the past, activities such as issuing bicycle licenses and radio licenses were carried out but later suspended. Nevertheless, the government loses approximately one billion rupees in revenue due to the collection of the acre levy. The Minister further stated that the President believes it is inappropriate to charge this amount from the farmers.
