Author: Gayan Chandrasekara
CB Governor slams CEB, CPC and SriLankan for dragging down state banks
Oct 30, 2015 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran on Thursday slammed inefficient state-owned enterprises as they have created losses in state banks while giving a free ride to private banks. “We have two government-run banks funding very large state enterprises whether its airline, the electricity company or the petroleum company,” he […]
Sri Lanka seeks to connect tax payers with revenue office online
Oct 30, 2015 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is looking at the possibilities of connecting the island’s revenue collection office with tax payers directly to streamline tax payments. Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran said they are considering SWIFT payment gateway as a one option. “Internet payment solution system called SWIFT can link up the tax payer with […]
Sri Lanka ranked 107 in ease of doing business index 2016
Oct 28, 2015 (LBO) – Sri Lanka was ranked 107 in the World Bank’s “Doing Business 2016” index, which measures the ease of doing business in 189 different countries, a report released by the bank on Tuesday revealed.Sri Lanka ranked 107th out of 189 countries in terms of ease of doing business for 2016.It was […]
Tax concessions damage country’s tax base: Former Indian FM
Oct 23, 2015 (LBO) – Tax concessions are not an alternative to a poor investment climate and damages the tax base of a country, Former Finance Minister of India Palaniappan Chidambaram said. Chidambaram was delivering the 20th annual taxation oration at the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka Thursday.Former Finance Minister said Sri Lanka […]
Finance Ministry to set up separate department for private sector from 2016
Oct 22, 2015 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Finance Ministry is to set up a separate department for the private sector development at the ministry from January 01, 2016, Minister Ravi Karunanayake said.Karunanayake said the upcoming budget will be a revolutionary one where the monopolistic approach of the government will be reduced with competitive element emerging […]
Sri Lanka to introduce National Consumer Price Index
Oct 22, 2015 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is to introduce a new National Consumer Price Index to represent the national level changes in the inflation. The cabinet nod has been given to consider its base year as 2013 and from 21 November 2015 to declare the proposed index on 21st of each month. The current […]
Youtube launches ad free uninterrupted version with paid content
Oct 22, 2015 (LBO) – World’s number one free video hosting site, Youtube has launched an ad free uninterrupted version of Youtube for a subscription fee of 9.99 US dollars a month. The new service that has been named as ‘YouTube Red’ will be available in the US for free with a one month trial […]
CEO Forum: Inter-ministerial task force to boost economy, says Harsha
Oct 22, 2015 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s new government has formed an inter-ministerial task force to develop the economy by coordinating work of important ministries, the Deputy Foreign Minister Harsha de Silva said. Apart from the Foreign Affairs Ministry, the task force mainly works with the Development Strategies and International Trade Ministry and Industry and […]
Ravi K warns companies not paying bonuses due to Super Gains Tax
Oct 20, 2015 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake told Parliament Tuesday that the government is in search for big companies that are not paying bonus payments to employees. “I was disappointed with some of the companies that pretended to be paying Super Gains Tax and stop certain payments,” he said.“There is no […]
Finance Minister introduces optional plan for banks to pay Super Gains Tax
Oct 20, 2015 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake revealed in Parliament on Tuesday that an optional plan has been introduced for banks to pay super gains tax. “Instead of banks paying (the tax directly) we are giving the opportunity back to them,” Karunanayake said. “So instead of paying 1 billion we call […]
US budget deficit drops to 2.5-pct in 2015; lowest since 2007
Oct 16, 2015 (LBO) – The United States Treasury Department on Thursday said country’s budget deficit has dropped to 2.5 percent of GDP in 2015, the lowest since 2007 and less than the average of the last 40 years.Year-end data from the September 2015 Monthly Treasury Statement of Receipts and Outlays of the United States […]
Ceylon Chamber introduces 10 principles to guide its future
Oct 15, 2015 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Chamber of Commerce has introduced 10 principles to guide its approach in influencing the trajectory of the private sector and the country’s economy. These principles, the first of its kind for a business chamber in Sri Lanka, will form the basis of the Chamber’s advocacy on pro-business policy […]