Category: Economy and Markets
Sri Lanka slaps tax on wireless fixed phones
Nov 07, 2007 (LBO) – The Sri Lankan government Wednesday said it would extend a 10 percent tax on mobile phones to wireless CDMA phones in an effort to raise revenue. . The move was announced by President Mahinda Rajapakse, who is also finance minister, when he presented the government’s budget for 2008 in parliament. […]
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Nov 07, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lankan media groups Wednesday condemned government restrictions on private media covering the 2008 budget speech by President Mahinda Rajapakse in parliament.The Free Media Movement, speaking on behalf of several media groups, said in a statement that it was deeply concerned and condemned the ban on photo journalists covering the […]
Sri Lankan earnings from abroad to be tax free
Nov 07, 2007 (LBO) – Incomes earned abroad by Sri Lankans including dividends and interest earned abroad that is remitted through the banking sector would be made free of income tax, according to proposals in the 2008 budget. Profits and income by individuals, partnerships, fees and allowances and dividends or interest from investments outside Sri […]
Sri Lanka budgets 7-pct deficit for 2008
Nov 07, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka says the budget deficit for 2008 would be 7.0 percent of the economy and the country was hoping to balance its revenues and day-to-day expenditure, a goal that has proved elusive for two decades. The government also promised a revenue surplus in 2007 but ended up with a […]
Sri Lanka to limit tax holidays – Update II
Nov 07, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka would cap tax holidays to a maximum of three years from 2008, and extend tax incentives only to low income housing and projects in difficult rural areas, President and finance minster Mahinda Rajapaskse said.“(We will) give only three year tax holidays other than for flagship investments, or to […]
Sri Lanka talks growth-inflation tightrope
Nov 07, 2007 (LBO) – Central Bank governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal said that tight monetary policy and efforts to reduce the budget deficit should trim sky-high inflation in the coming months. He said the government has to maintain a balance between controlling inflation and maintaining steady economic growth. Cabraal said Wednesday the island had coped […]
” bonds to get land tax break
Nov 07, 2007 (LBO) – Foreign resident Sri Lankans who will buy a special bond would be allowed to buy land in the country without a penal 100 percent transfer tax, President Mahinda Rajapakse said. The bond to be called ‘Homeland Development Bond’ would have maturities from 1 to 5 years and would be sold […]
Sri Lanka awash in dollar liquidity, country wide inflation at 22.1-pct
Nov 06, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s country-wide inflation shot up to 22.1 percent in September, the latest data shows, while the monetary authority is grappling with a liquidity shock from foreign borrowings that has flushed the system to unprecedented levels. Sri Lanka’s most widely watched index, the Colombo Consumer Price Index (CCPI) hit 19.6 […]
Sri Lanka counts cost of war with new budget
Nov 6, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka is expected to unveil its biggest ever war budget this week, as a government military campaign to crush the Tamil Tiger rebels takes a heavy toll on the island’s balance sheet. The government plans to increase defence spending by 20 percent to a record 1.45 billion dollars in […]
Sri Lanka says rupee will appreciate and interest rates will fall
Nov 06, 2007 (LBO) – The Sri Lankan rupee would appreciate to 110 to the US dollar and interest rates and inflation would fall further, Treasury Secretary P B Jayansundera said Tuesday. His comments come as the tiny island’s monetary system was overwhelmed by a 500 million dollar injection and the central bank struggled to […]
Sri Lanka to print less money for deficit after bond issue: Central Bank
Nov 02, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank says it would not have to print money as the government had borrowed abroad helping lower inflation in the near future, but analysts warn that a massive dollar liquidity influx is now unsettling the monetary system. Analysts say the October jump in inflation of 2.8 percent, […]
Sri Lanka women keeping economy afloat – UN
Nov 01, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is depending on women to earn foreign revenues more than any other country in the world with the bulk of worker remittances and export earnings generated by women, a UN official said. “If you look at both Sri Lanka’s primary exports and remittances, women dominate the sectors,” said […]