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Sri Lanka recent policy has crippled domestic industry: opposition
Nov 09, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s current economic framework has crippled domestic industry and protectionist taxes announced in the 2009 budget are contradictory and are aimed simply at raising revenue, the island’s main opposition has charged.The Mahinda Chinthana economic framework while paying lip service to domestic industry, is undermining its competitive strengths, opposition United […]
Sri Lanka spends US$587mn to prop up rupee in October
Nov 08, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has spent 587 million dollars to prop up the rupee in October, pushing the total to 790 million dollars over past two months, the latest official data showed. On Thursday and Friday the rupee strengthened against the 110 rupee peg maintained by the island’s central bank with credit […]
Sri Lanka air force helicopters hit Tiger islet
November 8, 2008 (AFP) – Helicopter gunships launched a rare night assault against a suspected Tamil Tiger base located on a small islet off Sri Lanka’s Jaffna peninsula, the defence ministry said on Saturday.The air force Mi-24 gunships attacked a “gathering point” of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) at Palaitivu, just on the […]
Sri Lanka TV censorship condemned by media watchdog
Nov 08, 2008 (LBO) – Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontiers or RSF) has condemned what it called live censorship on a Sri Lankan government television station amid criticism of a new broadcasting law. After receiving representatives of journalists’ organisations and media owners, media and information minister Anura Priyadharshana Yapa announced that implementation […]
Unstable Policy
Nov 08, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has defended state manipulation of fuel prices which has de-stabilized the economy, brought high inflation and endangered the country with foreign borrowing, while rejecting formula based pricing. The island scrapped a fuel price adjustment formula in 2004, and printed money to keep prices low, pushing the country into […]
Sri Lanka shares slump
Nov 07, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares Friday fell for the second day running after rising on thin volumes for several days with brokers saying small investors lacked the holding power to sustain early gains. To receive instant alerts from LBO on your Dialog mobile type ‘lbo’ and send to 678 The All Share […]
Tele Tax
Nov 07, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has made a new 10 percent telephone tax technology neutral by extending it from mobile phones to fixed lines as a part of proposals to raise revenue in 2009. The think tank strongly opposed an original state proposal to charge a fixed levy on mobile phones. LirneAsia chief […]
Sri Lanka troops near Tiger stronghold amidst heavy fighting: military
November 7, 2008 (AFP) – Intense battles gripped Sri Lanka’s northern Wanni region as government forces stepped up pressure on the Tamil rebel political capital, the defence ministry said Friday. To receive instant alerts from LBO on your Dialog mobile type ‘lbo’ and send to 678 Scores of rebels were killed and many more wounded […]
Sri Lanka budget cuts taxes, but imposes new one
Nov 07, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan accountants say the proposed cut in Value Added Tax (VAT) in the government’s 2009 budget would not provide much relief as a new tax and higher import duties would make up for the reduction. The budget presented to parliament by President Mahinda Rajapaksa proposed to reduce VAT, the […]
Sri Lanka government to spend Rs200bn for defence in 2009
Nov 06, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s government would spend 360 billion for capital expenditure in 2009, and 200 billion for defence, the island’s president and finance minister Mahinda Rajapaksa told parliament. Of late politicians have been trying to put more emphasis on income taxes, instead of indirect taxes where their spending is also captured. […]