COLOMBO, March 8 (Reuters) - Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, saying his country must break out of a debt trap, on Tuesday announced a rise in value added tax (VAT) and said the government will impose a capital gains tax.
VAT will be hiked to 15 percent from 11 percent, while capital gains will be taxed for the first time since 1987, Wickremesinghe told parliament, before talks on a $1.5 billion loan Sri Lanka is seeking from the International Monetary Fund. (Reporting by Shihar Aneez and Ranga Sirilal; Editing by Douglas Busvine)
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