Fact Check: Anura Kumara Dissanayake Did Not Promise to Remove VAT from All Items

Anura Kumara Dissanayake is being targeted by misinformation campaigns ahead of the presidential election in Sri Lanka
Social media posts claim that Dissanayake promised to remove VAT from all items if elected president
Fact-check reveals that Dissanayake only promised to remove VAT from items related to health, education, and food
Many items in these sectors are already VAT-exempt under current Sri Lankan regulations
Dissanayake’s proposal would likely continue or slightly expand these exemptions
Misunderstanding may stem from past tax cuts by former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa, which included broad VAT reductions
The claim that Dissanayake promised to remove VAT from all items is false

Note that this post was (partially) written with the help of AI. It is always useful to review the original source material, and where needed to obtain (local) advice from a specialist.