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Giving a leg up to the local tourist trade, the government plans to develop Maskeliya and Puttalam as a future hotspot for the travel trade.Finance Minister K N Choksy says the lagoons in these regions will be developed to be a major resort area, with funds pumped in to expand the Bentota resort stretch.rn rnChoksy […]

The government is coming up with a series of housing loan packages targeted at different segments, to help spur a construction boom.The housing programmes will have four components based on the levels of affordability of different categories of peoplern rnUnder its lquote homeownership campaign, the Treasury will allocate Rs. 800 mn next year, to build […]

Personal tax exemption threshold would be raised to Rs 300,000 from the current Rs 240,000 and the income slabs widened, with effect from 2004/2005.rnrnrnrnrnrnNew Page 1rnrnrnrnrn rnrnrn rn rn rn

All public servants will get a 10 percent pay hike each month in the new budget or a minimum Rs.1250 increase, whichever is higher, at a cost of Rs.12.5 bn to the state.This will be the highest increase for public sector workers in the last ten years and will also apply to the Police, the […]

The value added tax is to unified to a single 15 per cent rate from January 2004, from the current 10 and 20 per cent, while the government has abandoned plans to bring wholesale and retail trade into the VAT system.Finance Minister K. N. Choksy says 70 per cent of the VAT revenue now comes […]

The government unveiled grand policies to develop the Southern province with plans to develop an airport, a port and set up an oil refinery.Finance Minister K N Choksy told legislators on Wednesday that the Southern expressway will be extended to Hambantota and Wellawaya.rn rnldblquote Our infrastructure development plan also envisages the development of a port […]

Two new export-processing zones will spring up next year, as part of the governments plans to spur economic activity.As Lanka Business Online reported on Tuesday, a second export zone will come up in Keragala, Biyagama in addition to another location in Pannala.rn rnFinance Minister K N Choksy says, the Board of Investment (BOI) is faced […]

A new tax called Economic Service Charge (ESC) of one percent over turnover or assets will come into effect next year, in an attempt to net in firms not paying government taxes.ESC will be slapped as an advance collection on the final tax payable on companies, including BOI firms, with a turnover in excess of […]

Finance Minister K N Choksy made the strongest statement yet that the government is committed to a strong rupee policy.ldblquote Sri Lankans have accepted with complacency and resignation the concept of a weak rupee prevailing indefinitely dblquote , Minister Choksy said, during the round up of recent economic developments presented shortly before the budget proposals.rn […]