Importers Want One Flat Tax on All Cars for Budget 2027 — Would Prices Actually Drop?

The Ceylon Automobile Importers Association has asked the government to scrap the current tiered duty and excise brackets and replace them with a single unified tax rate on every imported vehicle, ahead of Budget 2027. Their argument: the current system only lets a handful of models in profitably, so a flat rate would open the door to more affordable, safer, fuel-efficient cars, and the government would still win through higher import volumes instead of fewer, heavily-taxed units. Supporters say this removes the guesswork dealers currently do to squeeze a car into a cheaper tax bracket, and more models competing for buyers could finally push prices down. Skeptics point out that every past "reform" here, the 50% surcharge, the 15% used-vehicle concession, ended with the Treasury collecting more, not less, so a flat rate could just as easily get set high enough that nothing changes for the buyer. If you've been pricing a car against the current bracket system, would a single flat tax actually move the number you'd pay, or is this just another headline before the real gazette comes out? ඔබේ අදහස මොකක්ද - මේකෙන් ගාණ අඩු වේවිද, නැත්නම් ආයෙත් රජයට වාසියක්ද?