President Ranil Wickremesinghe said in Parliamenty yesterday he was aware that Value Added Tax (VAT) was a burden on the public. He said it would be possible to reduce VAT with the passage of time. Delivering the government policy statement at the commencement of the new session of Parliament, the President said: “The prior scarcity […]

Inaugurating the 5th session of the 9th Parliament of Sri Lanka President Ranil Wickremesinghe called upon all lawmakers to collaborate in nation building  even though they would be contesting elections separately. “From ancient times to the present day, our world has encountered a myriad of crises, spanning nations and personal lives alike. While some crises […]

By Sanath Nanayakkare When a country is in an economic crisis, it creates an environment conducive to implementing economic reforms which would be difficult to do in good times, however, it still depends on how far the reformist leaders can shape the opinion of the people and the people’s willingness to take those reforms on […]

A proposal, set to take effect from October 1, 2023, stipulates rates of USD 130 for 5-star hotels, USD 100 for 4-star hotels, and USD 80 for 3-star hotels within the city of Colombo. While the authorities argue that this measure aims to counter underpricing by higher-tier hotels, this policy threatens to undermine the growth […]

By Shamindra Ferdinando Justice Minister Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakse, PC, declared in Parliament that the winners of LPL (Lanka Premier League) 2023 B-Love Kandy had been sponsored by an enterprise that was banned in the country. The statement was made in Parliament on 24th August. The one-time President of the Bar Association found fault with SLC […]

Reforms to be introduced to end ‘media abuses’ President Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday said that the government was not in a position to lower the taxes. Delivering his second government policy statement to inaugurate the Fourth session of the Ninth Parliament, the President said: “Some people say that the primary taxable income should be raised from […]

By Krishantha Prasad Cooray In many ways, the economic collapse of Sri Lanka became a near certainty in the weeks after Gotabaya Rajapaksa was elected President. In hindsight, it is clear to all that his government’s number one priority was consolidating their power and punishing those it saw as its enemies. Their next priority was […]

We can make the Mannar Island like entertainment location like Macau island

The exchange rate (ER) last week had the dubious distinction of making a steep dive to hit Rs. 130 by being depreciated by nearly Rs. 5 against the US dollar ($) in a week in interbank trading on the back of import demand, but since then has seemingly been tenuously holding on to those levels ...

“Our sense is that if we do not act boldly and if we do not act together, the economy around the world runs the risk of a downward spiral of uncertainty, financial instability and potential collapse of global demand… we could run the risk of what some commentators are already calling

Last week my phone beeped and the text message read ‘The Chairperson of the Security and Exchange Commission Indrani Sugathadasa had resigned citing reasons of values and principles for her resignation’. My mind went back to the time when this lady when she was the Board Director at EDB. Whenever tough decisions had be taken ...

The policy changes, reforms and modernisation since Budget 2011 appears to have been the context of a presentation made to the Joint Apparel Association Forum in July 2011 by the “leading light” in finance, planning, treasury management and economic development. Sri Lanka background 2000-’10 The presentation articulates the background issues experienced from 2000 to 2010. ...

Last week I received an invite for an ‘Inventors Day Celebration’ in one of the leading schools in the country and the master in charge shared a thought that I felt was a cutting edge idea. Apparently, every one of us is an inventor in some part of our daily life. The issue is that ...

by Darini Rajasingham Senanayake On 4 February, Sri Lanka celebrated its 63rd birthday. After nearly three decades of armed conflict, it is now one of Southasia’s calmest and fastest-growing countries. Its social indicators, apart from the northeast zone, remain the...

By Ravinatha Pandukabhaya Aryasinha Ananda College Old Boys' Association Olcott Oration 2010...

WARS can still be won, even against formidable terrorist organisations. And Sri Lanka shows how. That is the core message of the country's security supremo, Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa in a rare interview with The Australian: by Rowan Callick His...

Winning the Peace by Ross Tuttle After 30 years of war, Sri Lanka's Tamil community is finally connected again with the outside world. But life under occupation has its own tensions -- and renewed conflict is always a possibility. JAFFNA,...