Nov 01, Colombo: Sri Lanka's revenue authority will declare the first week of November as the National Tax week to increase the awareness of government's tax system among the public and to educate them on their responsibilities on paying taxes.

Accordingly, the week from today through November 08 will be declares as the National Tax Week.

The ceremonial launching of the first annual Tax Week will be held under the theme, 'You, the Tax Payer, are Respectable', at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute this morning at 10 a.m. under the patronage of the Secretary of the Ministry of Finance Dr. P.B. Jayasundara.

Implementation of the Tax Week is aimed at removing the fear the Sri Lankan public has on the tax system and building public confidence in tax administration and related activities of the Department of Inland Revenue and Sri Lanka Customs to encourage the public to voluntarily comply with the tax laws.

"We want to stop the fear and uncertainty in the minds of the public about paying tax," Commissioner General of Inland Revenue Mrs. Mallika Samarasekera told reporters recently.

The Commissioner General says that income tax officials are being provided special training to recover taxes without subjecting the tax payer into unnecessary burdens through the implementation of novel tax collecting methods.

The measure also aims to enlighten the public on the contribution they could render towards future prosperity of the country through timely payment of taxes and raise the public awareness in the tax reliefs and tax holidays granted by the new tax system which is being implemented since 2011.

During the National Tax week the Department of Inland Revenue will hold exhibitions, seminars and open days in Colombo and other main cities across the island. The public can interact with the Department staff and get advice to their tax questions, the official said.

The Commissioner General also said meanwhile, the efforts to fulfill the inland revenue target for this year have been successful receiving 42 percent of the anticipated annual income tax revenue within the first six months of the year.

Sri Lanka's Inland Revenue Department says it has 897,000 active tax files.The total income tax grew 7 percent in the first six months of this year and special incomes have been increased by 14 percent.