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Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake has accused the President of being responsible for the stalling of the Bribery Commission. 

The MP made these comments during the parliamentary debate held today (13). Dissanayake also said the President must reveal to parliament as to why he removed its former Director General as well. 

According to the MP with the Commission not taking action against any politicians it is clear it has been interfered with by the politician. 

He also noted that Sirisena has violated the constitution on several occasion which has been proved in the Supreme Court as well.

The Second Reading of the Budget 2019 was passed today by with 119 MPs voting in favour and 76 MPs voting against.

The Tamil National alliance (TNA) voted in favour while the JVP voted against.

The committee stage debate will begin on tomorrow (13) and the final vote is due to be taken on April 05th.

It has been decided by the cabinet yesterday (12) to discuss the tender granted to a foreign company in order to implement the Suraksha Insurance Scheme at the next cabinet meeting. 

According to sources President Sirisena has raised his objections regarding the tender being handed over to a foreign company. 

However, Minister of Education, Akila Kariyawasam is said to have explained that the tender cannot be revoked as the scheme meant for students is already in operation. 

While a discussion was thereafter held between the President, Minister and Official, it had been decided that a final decision will be taken by the cabinet. However, sources say the issues remains to be in a deadlock with the cabinet being unable to take a decision in this regard at the recently held meeting.

The Rijksmuseum in Netherlands is in talks with Sri Lanka and Indonesia about the restitution of art taken from those countries in colonial times. Rijksmusuem director Taco Dibbits called it scandalous that the Netherlands hasn't worried about this issue before now. 

"We should have done this much earlier. There is no excuse for that", he said to Dutch newspaper Trouw.

Martine Gosselink, the head of the Rijksmuseum's History department, will travel to Sri Lanka in two weeks to discuss the possible return of artworks, including an antique cannon and the diamond of Banjarmasin, a Sultan of Borneo who once owned the jewel. Later this spring she will travel to Indonesia.

The Rijksmusuem can not decide by itself to return art pieces. As they are state property, the Minister of Education, Culture and Science has to agree. 

Last week the National Museum of World Cultures published a guideline for the restitution of stolen art. The Museum, an umbrella organization covering several Dutch museums, said that it wanted to actively look for items in its collection of 375 thousand objects that are eligible for return.

It has been revealed that Sri Lanka’s income tax rates and corporate tax rates are well below than that of many regional peers. Dispelling allegations made by Joint Opposition MPs that Sri Lanka is burdened with heavy tax rates, officials of the Ministry of Finance said that Sri Lanka has a relatively low tax rate compared to that of neighbouring countries such as India and Pakistan.

Corporate Tax Rates

According to data received from the Treasury, Sri Lanka’s upper end corporate tax rate of 28% is below than the tax rates imposed in Pakistan, Japan, India and Philippines.

Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera had made arrangements to introduce a special concessionary corporate tax rate of 14% for all small and medium scale enterprises that record an annual turnover of less than LKR 500 million.

This special concessionary tax rate was also extended towards all export companies as well as businesses engaged in the agriculture, tourism and IT sectors. 
Personal Tax Rates

With the exception of Myanmar and Cambodia, Sri Lanka’s personal income tax top rate of 24% is well below than other countries in the region.

For example, India has imposed a top tax rate of 36% while Vietnam and Thailand have set their top rates at 35%. Malaysia and Indonesia too have higher personal income tax rates than Sri Lanka, the Finance Ministry official said.

Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera said that Sri Lanka should have at least a million tax files but only around 246,000 have registered to pay taxes according to data received from the Inland Revenue Department.

At a press conference held at the Finance Ministry past Thursday (07), Samaraweera said that the masses should not always complain about taxes.

“Taxes are essential for a country. In Sri Lanka, around 82% of taxes are indirect, one of the highest rates in the world. We only have about 246,000 tax files. For a population of 20 million, we should have at least one million income tax files. This needs to change”, he said.

Finance Ministry officials pointed out that with the implementation of the new IRA Act in 2018, Finance Minister Samaraweera is trying to reduce the indirect tax rate of 82% which is primarily borne by ordinary people, by widening the tax net to include more direct tax payers.

United People’s Freedom Alliance has decided to vote against the second reading of the Budget 2019. 

UPFA MP Lakshman Yapa said that the decision to vote against the budget was taken at the parliamentary group meeting held this morning (12). However, they have decided to vote in favour of the President's expenditure head. 

The voting on the second reading of Budget 2019 is scheduled to take place today.

The JVP has already stated that they will vote against budget.

Jananath Warakagoda, Musician and Son of Veteran Artist Wijeratne Warakagoda has been remanded till March 18 by the Mahara Magistrates Court. The vehicle he was driving was involved in a fatal accident which killed a 68-year-old woman on a pedestrian crossing opposite the Kirillawala Divisional Secretariat today morning. Police are carrying out further investigations into the incident.

Sri Lanka is once again under international pressure to implement fully the measures identified by the UNHRC in 2015 to address human rights concerns after the United Kingdom and Germany on Tuesday tabled a resolution at the UN body in Geneva.

The UN rights office calls for international investigations into alleged war crimes and encourages member states to prosecute Sri Lankans suspected of war crimes in accordance with universal jurisdiction principles.

Titled "Promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka", the rollover resolution requests the Office of the High Commissioner to continue to assess progress on the implementation of its recommendations and other relevant processes related to reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka.

It also calls for presenting a written update to the UNHRC at its 43rd session, and a comprehensive report, followed by a discussion on the implementation of Council resolution 30/1, at its 46th session, a foreign ministry source said.

The resolution which Sri Lanka is expected to co-sponsor is termed A/HRC/40/L.1 and was also endorsed by Canada, Germany, Montenegro, North Macedonia, the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland, according to the source.

The resolution follows the report submitted by the UN Human Rights High Commissioner Michelle Brachelet last week.    

The report reviews the progress made by Sri Lanka since October 2015 and January 2019.

It assessed Sri Lanka’s pledge on promoting reconciliation and human rights accountability.

Brachelet’s report said that her office has been receiving credible information on cases of abduction, unlawful detention torture and sexual violence by the Sri Lankan security forces allegedly taken place from 2016 to 2018.

The report has acknowledged the government’s progress in human rights issues and its engagement with civil society.

The Resolution requests the Office of the High Commissioner and relevant special procedure mandate holders in consultation with the concurrence of the Government of Sri Lanka to continue to strengthen their advice and technical assistance on the promotion and protection of human rights and truth, justice, reconciliation and accountability in Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka has resisted calls for international investigations citing constitutional constraints for foreign judges to operate in the island.

The UNHRC resolutions since 2013 had censured Sri Lanka on its alleged human rights abuses.

They called for probing of the rights abuses by both the LTTE and the government troops by setting up an international investigation.

The Tamil rights groups continue to pressurise the government for meaningful accountability process for human rights violations in order to achieve reconciliation. (PTI)

A special allowance of Rs.50 is to be paid from 1st of April 2019 for a year for the plantation sector workers, Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera said today. 

"Within this year, a total reform and restructuring program will be carried out. Better working conditions and making the workers stakeholders of the industry is a must", Samaraweera said in a tweet. 

Sri Lanka has an estimated 140,000 plantation sector workers. The Rs.50 per worker allowance would be in addition to the recently agreed total daily wage of Rs.750, which includes a Rs.700 basic daily wage. 

The latest wage agreement was formalised between the Regional Plantation Companies (RPCs) and several plantation worker trade unions, in January.

A group of naval personnel attached to the Eastern Naval Command recovered few explosive items hidden in a scrub, during a search carried out in the beach area of Sagarapura yesterday (11). During the search, 2 water gel sticks, 8 non electric detonators and 5 safety fuses were seized and the items are currently being held at the armoury of SLNS Walagamba.

Sri Lanka's Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation on Tuesday said the government would soon launch public buses for "females only" in order to curb the rising complaints of sexual harassment on public  transport.

The ministry in a statement said the buses will be launched within the coming two weeks in capital Colombo and will be extended to other parts of the country later this year. At least 25 to 30 buses would be put on the roads at first by the state-owned Sri Lanka Transport Board.

The aim of this program is to reduce the abusive environment and the sexual harassment faced by women in public transport system.

The ministry last week launched special "all female compartments" in passenger trains travelling throughout the island in order to ensure the safety of female passengers.

The "all women compartments" would also help reduce overcrowding in trains.

Sri Lanka has recently faced a rise in women facing sexual harassment on public transportation, according to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

In a recent report by the UNFPA, at least 90 percent of women have faced harassment on trains and buses and incidents of sexual harassment is on the rise because victims refuse to speak up and opt to suffer in silence.

Opposition leader Mahinda Rajapaksa appears to be rounding up other parties of the opposition in a bid to defeat the budget brought by the United National Party (UNP) government. According to sources his aim is to defeat the budget and request that a general election should be held. 

He is also said to have informed the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) that it needs to support this bid if the issues regarding the nominee for the 2020 presidential election is to be resolved. 

Reports from the political arena say Rajapaksa has informed President Maithripala Sirisena regarding this as well. However, he is yet to receive a response from Sirisena. Sources say a group from the SLFP are to vote in favour of the budget putting Sirisena in a difficult position leading to his failure to respond to Rajapaksa’s demands.