Sale and no more land leases for foreigners

Legislation is being introduced to remove existing legal impediments in the sale of land to foreigners and foreign companies to develop state land in major towns occupied by people illegally. These people are now being evicted, government officials said. The current system of levying a 100% tax on land transfers to foreigners will be removed by introducing a special land tax in order to prevent the sale of land at inflated prices to foreign buyers, making huge profits completely tax free and thereby cheating the government of revenue while also breaking immigration laws.  Under the present system, a foreigner or a foreign company can buy tax-free land if their investment for the whole project is over US$10 million. Foreigners are now allowed to own land in Sri Lanka with some restrictions. The purpose of this 100% tax is to discourage foreigners acquiring properties in Sri Lanka. However a joint venture company incorporated in Sri Lanka (with foreign participation) is not liable to pay that tax. Furthermore the condominium units of residential or non-residential accommodation on or above the 6th floor of a registered condominium apartment constructed with the approval of the UDA are exempt from such 100% tax, the Finance Ministry official said. More>> (Source: Sunday Times)