Sri Lankan cricketers are currently in a bit of a tough spot, as they’ve taken legal steps to sort out a dispute over their personal income tax with Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) and the Inland Revenue Department (IRD). This all started back in March when they filed a case challenging their employment status concerning tax responsibilities.
The cricketers involved include some big names, like Dhananjaya de Silva and Charith Asalanka from the men’s team, along with women players like Chamari Athapaththu and Anushka Sanjeewani. Their main argument is that they shouldn’t be seen as employees of SLC. Instead, they want to be recognized as individual service providers, meaning their income from playing cricket shouldn’t be taxed in the same way as regular employee earnings.
They are pushing back against the IRD, which has been trying to take Advance Personal Income Tax (APIT) directly from their earnings as cricketers. The Solicitor General’s Department argues that since the players signed contracts with SLC, they should fall under the definition of employees according to the Inland Revenue Act.
Things moved forward recently in a court hearing on Tuesday, where both sides reached a temporary agreement. This means the IRD won’t start deducting APIT from the players’ earnings until June, and they also agreed to pause any efforts to collect APIT for the years 2022/23 and 2023/24 while this case is still being looked at.
This pause gives the cricketers a little bit of relief as they work through the complicated issue of how they’re classified in terms of employment status. The Court of Appeal has set dates for the next hearings, which will take place on November 6, 14, and 18 this year. This should give everyone involved some time to solidify their arguments and prepare for what comes next.