No choice but to raise sales tax - Ali Sabry

Sri Lanka's finance minister has told the BBC he has no choice but to hike the country's sales tax as it faces its worst ever economic crisis. In an exclusive interview, Ali Sabry conceded the government made a mistake when it almost halved the rate of value added tax (VAT) to 8% in 2019. Mr Sabry says the nation needs $4bn (£3.2bn) over the next eight months to pay for imports of daily essentials. His comments come amid mass protests over government economic policies.