Sri Lanka Cricket evades taxes worth over Rs 2.8 mn for Hathurusinghe?

COLOMBO (News 1st) - A Forensic Audit on Sri Lanka Cricket revealed benefits given to the Head Coach of the Sri Lankan Cricket team. The audit observations revealed that when recruiting Chandika Hathurusinghe as the head coach, the executive committee had not given proper approval to the process. It adds that the agreement was not submitted to the legal department of SLC, while the matter was not investigated in a proper manner. As per the third paragraph of the agreement between the head coach and the SLC, US$ 20,000 had been paid as air travel allowances on an annual basis. Accordingly, during the period, between January 1st 2018 and June 30th 2019, the head coach was paid a total allowance of Rs 4,415,901. The observations further reveal that the SLC had failed to pay Rs.1,059,810 to the Inland Revenue Department as taxes charged on additional income earned by coaches. The SLC had also paid Rs 130,000 to the cricket coach for the vehicle that was given to him on a monthly lease basis. Fuel charges for this vehicle were also paid by the SLC. Accordingly, non-monetary benefits worth Rs 630,000 was not considered and incorporated during the tax calculation process, while the SLC had failed to pay Rs 151,200 of taxes that should have been charged on the non-monetary benefits. The SLC had agreed to pay PAYE taxes of Rs 1,211,016, charged on an income of Rs 5,045,901, on behalf of its head coach, Hathurusinghe. The SLC is also due to pay further income tax of Rs 382,439 to the inland revenue department. The SLC had agreed to bear taxes amounting to Rs 15,537,700 on behalf of Chandika Hathurusinghe, a commitment highlighted in the Audit Observations, as a pointless liability, that could have been invested in the development of SLC rather than in just one employee. The SLC had also agreed to pay consultancy fees of US$ 360,000 over a period of 36 months to Hathurusinghe for the preparation of a report. This amount was paid semi-annually, even before the start of the second quarter, while audit observations have not revealed the reasons. Accordingly, the SLC had evaded taxes worth Rs 2,804,465 that should have been paid to the inland revenue department, on behalf of Hathurusinghe. Should such authorities who have committed a financial crime not be arrested? Commissioner-General of the Inland Revenue Department. For your attention.