The government of Sri Lanka intends to repeal the casino entry levy it announced earlier this year, the country’s minister of finance, Ravi Karunanayake, said in his recent budget.

Sri Lanka

The budget proposal means that the current fee of US$100 per person entering a casino venue - proposed in March but not yet introduced - would be removed.

However, the annual levy of around $1.4m for operating a casino business is set to double to $2.8m a year, with additional taxation also to be introduced.

“I propose to impose a surtax at the rate of 25 per cent of income tax liability,” Karunanayake told parliament.

The minister also said that an area of the city of Colombo, the Sri Lankan capital, slated for casino development by the previous government, would instead be home to an international financial centre.