Minister of Finance Basil Rajapaksa, delivered his inaugural budget speech today (12). This is the 76th budget of an independent Sri Lanka and it is also the second budget of the incumbent Government.
Key takeaways from the Minister’s speech are detailed below:
- Annual Warrant for State expenditure to be made a Quarterly Warrant in the future
- Telephone expenditure in State institutions to be slashed by 25%
- Construction of new office buildings for State institutions to be suspended for two years
- Eligibility for MPs' pensions to be extended to 10 years from the current 5 years
- Radio/TV Broadcasting & Telecasting licences to be issued on an auction basis
- Petrol allowance of Ministers & State officials will be reduced by 5 litres per month for an individual
- The Special Commodity Levy to come into effect from 01 January 2022
- Age limit for Govt. sector employees' pension extended to 65 years
- Rs. 15 million to be allocated for the development of their areas to each MP
- Rs.600 Mn to 3-wheelers sector, Rs. 1,500 Mn for Private bus industry, Rs. 400 Mn for school vans & buses and Rs. 500 Mn to Event Management sector to be allocated to compensate for loss during pandemic
- Rs.15,000 Mn allocated to provide relief packages to low income earning families
- A one-time tax surcharge of 25% to be imposed on individuals or companies earning an annual taxable income of Rs. 2,000 Mn in financial year 2020/21
- Rs.5 to be increased on the current retail price of each cigarette
- Value added tax on financial services provided by commercial banks & financial institutions to be increased from 15% to 18%
- All vehicles held up at SL Customs due to non-payment of taxes or other reasons to be released after charging such relevant taxes and fines
- A levy to be imposed on motor vehicles meeting with accidents & such levy to be reimbursed through insurance.
- Rs. 1,000 Mn allotted for senior citizens and people with special needs
- Proposal to establish telecommunication network covering entire country
- Govt. to extend retirement age of public servants to 65 years
- Proposal to transfer Rs. 8.5 Bn that Perpetual Treasuries Limited earned in violation of the Code of Conduct at the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, to the Treasury.
- Another Rs. 4 Bn allocated for every electorate in the country
- MSME sector allocated Rs. 5 billion in relief
- Additional Rs. 5000 Bn allocated to promote Organic Agriculture
- Additional Rs. 15,000 Bn allocated to ensure access to clean drinking water
- Rs. 500 Mn allocated to develop the renewable energy sector
- Rs. 2000 Mn allocated for urban housing projects, Rs. 5000 Mn allocated for rural housing
- Rs. 500 Mn allocated for the development of houses for people living in estate Line-Houses
- Rs. 85,000 Mn will be allocated for rural community development
- Rs. 3 Mn for every Grama Niladhari Division. A total of Rs. 42,053 Mn will be allocated for this purpose.