President Ranil Wickremesinghe said in Parliamenty yesterday he was aware that Value Added Tax (VAT) was a burden on the public. He said it would be possible to reduce VAT with the passage of time. Delivering the government policy statement at the commencement of the new session of Parliament, the President said: “The prior scarcity […]

Urges unity over deep political divisions for effective crisis management Says ‘intricate’ foreign debt restructuring will take up to six months Invites Opposition to confer with institutions that foster international financial stability by Sanath Nanayakkare As government revenue increases, measures will be taken to increase benefits for the people accordingly, President Ranil Wickremesinghe said...

Inaugurating the 5th session of the 9th Parliament of Sri Lanka President Ranil Wickremesinghe called upon all lawmakers to collaborate in nation building  even though they would be contesting elections separately. “From ancient times to the present day, our world has encountered a myriad of crises, spanning nations and personal lives alike. While some crises […]

Thursday 1st February, 2024 Dr. Laksiri Fernando has, in his column published on the opposite page today, reminded us that the Voters’ Day of Sri Lanka falls on 01 Feb. The Election Commission (EC) conducts special programmes on this day to educate voters on matters such as the basic qualifications required for registration, and the […]

President Ranil Wickremesinghe extended an invitation to all political party leaders in the Parliament to engage in discussions with the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on the implementation of the agreement with the IMF. Emphasizing the importance of unity in leading the country to success, he reiterated that withdrawing from the agreement […]

by Dr Amali Wedagedara In Sri Lanka, public policy lost in the neoliberal haze treats the market as a cure for all ills. Not only is the market omnipresent, but it is also omniscient and omnipotent. The charm of the ‘market’ that research and advocacy lobbyists are creating is so alluring that only a few […]

By Sanjeewa Jayaweera The headline on page one of the Sunday Island of 07 January 2024 read, “CBSL Governor urges public to become informants to boost tax revenue.” The article was based on an interview with Governor Nandala Weerasinghe (NW) hosted by the President’s Media Centre. NW is quoted to have said, “If the public […]

By Saman Indrajith Forty-eight-year-old Batticaloa District MP Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan, popularly known as Pillayan, has been shaping the Eastern Province’s political narrative since he was a teenager. He was just 16-years old when he joined the LTTE in 1990 as a child soldier. Since then, he continued to rise in the ranks of the LTTE until […]

ECONOMYNEXT –Central Bank Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe urged the public to become informants to broaden the tax net and thus reduce both overall direct and indirect taxes. The government has raised Value Added Tax (VAT), an indirect tax to 18 percent from 15 percent with effect from January 1. The move also will see some VAT […]

The Inland Revenue Department yesterday (21) issued the list of goods and services that would be exempted from the enhanced Value Added Tax (VAT) regime that comes into effect from 01 January 2024. The list of items included Wheat and wheat flour; infant milk powder; Pharmaceutical Products and Drugs (other than cosmetics) whose end use […]

[An article based on the Keynote Address delivered by Dr. P. Nandalal Weerasinghe, Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, recently at the Annual Research Symposium 2023 of the University of Colombo] Introduction Inflation affects every aspect of our lives; it is a force that shapes our purchasing power, influences our financial decisions, and […]

By MEERA SRINIVASAN As Sri Lanka tries to rebuild its battered economy after last year’s devastating crisis, the country’s political scene is gradually heating up, in the run up to two national elections scheduled next year — parliamentary and presidential — that will give citizens

By Shamindra Ferdinando Chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means Patali Champika Ranawaka on Tuesday (12) alleged that the Finance Ministry had allowed the operation of a distillery in spite of that company failing to pay taxes. The former minister said that the country lost millions for want of political will to recover what that company owed […]

By Rathindra Kuruwita Dissident Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) MP, Dayasiri Jayasekera, has expressed concern over a potential 50% drop in the revenue of the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) due to the entry of foreign companies into the petroleum market. Jayasekera highlighted the adverse impact of the policies of successive governments on the CPC. “The […]

by Harim Peiris As we approach the end of 2023 and with about a year to go for the next presidential election due before end 2024, President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s frequent refrain and indeed the rationale for his administration is the revival of the national economy after it was spectacularly

Monday 27th November, 2023 The SJB has commenced collecting signatures for a public petition as part of a campaign to have those who are responsible for the current economic crisis stripped of their civic rights. Given public resentment, which is palpable, the SJB may be able to obtain hundreds of thousands of signatures for its […]