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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. […]
Sri Lanka to lower fuel prices by taxing other goods
Nov 07, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa said Wednesday that fuel prices will be maintained at current levels “temporarily” and revenue losses would be offset by higher levies on imported consumer goods. Due to a long-term policy of giving benefits to privileged classes of society based on muddled political thinking, Sri Lanka […]
Sri Lanka government moves into shop keeping
Nov 07, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s government which has been unable to provide adequate public goods such as roads, power or water to its people for years, is getting back into one of the most basic of businesses: shop keeping. “It is proposed to set up a State Trading Wholesale Establishment, which will be […]
Sri Lankan ship owners win tax relief in budget
Nov 07, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka ship owners won a tax concession in the government’s budget for 2008 presented in parliament Wednesday by president and finance minister Mahinda Rajapakse. . Ship owners registering their vessels under the Sri Lankan flag will be exempt the Port and Airport Development Levy (PAL) and would not be […]
Sri Lanka leader says terrorism must be defeated to achieve peace
Nov 07, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse said Wednesday that Tamil Tiger separatist terrorism has to be defeated in order to achieve peace in the island.Sri Lanka has been left with a weak and unstable economy owing to 25 years of terrorism, poor infrastructure development and inadequate attention to developing the domestic […]
Sri Lanka seeks budget balance between subsidies and development
Nov 07, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is seeking a balance between subsidies and development in a budget for 2008 to be presented today, as officials said planned capital spending had been sacrificed in 2007. “We are at a time when we need to present long-term answers to the problems of the country,” deputy finance […]
‘s promises more props for agriculture
Nov 07, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s domestic agriculture and processing industry was promised sweeping relief by the government including tax waivers and loan write-offs and more cash for subsidized fertilizer, in the 2008 budget. The politically important rice farmers would continue to get any type of fertilizer at 350 rupees per bag while urea […]
Dollar slides to new record low against euro, gold 825 dollars after rate cut
LONDON, Nov 7, 2007 (AFP) – The dollar on Wednesday tumbled to a fresh historic low against the euro, as a Chinese official suggested China may diversify its reserves away from the US unit, analysts said. The greenback was also pressured by the prospect of yet another cut to US interest rates, dealers said. The […]
Australian central bank hikes interest rate
SYDNEY, Nov 7, 2007 (AFP) – Australia’s central bank raised interest rates 0.25 points to an 11-year high of 6.75 percent Wednesday in a move expected to hurt Prime Minister John Howard’s re-election hopes. “Having weighed both the international and domestic information available, the board judged that a further increase in the cash rate was […]
Oil scales new US$97.10 peak in Asian trade
SINGAPORE, Nov 7, 2007 (AFP) – Oil powered to a new all-time trading high in Asian trade Wednesday amid expectations of a decline in US energy reserves ahead of the peak northern hemisphere winter, dealers said. At 9:15 am (0115 GMT), New York’s main contract light sweet crude for December delivery was up 52 cents […]