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Sri Lanka looks forward to benefiting more from the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative and is ready to welcome more Chinese investment into the country, Sri Lankan Minister of Tourism Development, Wildlife and Christian Religious Affairs John Amaratunga has said.

The Minister told Xinhua news agency in an interview on Tuesday that Sri Lanka and China shared strong relations and Sri Lanka was one of the first countries to pledge support for the Belt and Road Initiative.

“To start with, Sri Lanka is fully supportive of the Belt and Road Initiative of China. We have no debate on that. We look forward to benefiting more from this policy that China has adopted. “We hope more investments will come into Sri Lanka from China. There are a lot of Chinese companies who are looking to invest here, particularly in the tourism industry. We will gladly welcome all of them and give them all the support and assistance to start their projects here which will help our economy,” Amaratunga said.

A key project of the Belt and Road Initiative, the Colombo Port City being constructed close to the Colombo Harbour by the China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd. has generated employment for hundreds of locals and will attract millions of dollars in investments. 

According to Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, the Port City will transform Colombo into a financial and trading hub.said a joint venture between Sri Lanka and China to develop the Hambantota Port in southern Sri Lanka had also brought in many benefits to the local economy, boosting Sri Lanka’s image as a maritime hub and lifting the livelihood of many locals. 

He added that Sri Lanka looks forward to submitting new proposals at the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation which will be held in China next month. (IANS)

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.

The new taxes proposed on motor vehicles through budget 2019 will only apply for letters of credit (LCs) opened after March 6, Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera said.

The Minister made these remarks at a press conference held at the Ministry of Finance today.

Samaraweera said that many false rumours are being spread by the joint opposition alleging that revised taxes will be imposed on LCs opened before March 6 and reiterated that such claims are incorrect and that they are merely attempting to mislead the public.

He pointed out that in 2018, in spite of an increase in taxes, there was an influx of vehicles into the economy resulting on pressures on the exchange rate. The Central Bank in response announced a 200% cash margin for LCs in September last year to restrict vehicle imports.

“But as I announced in Parliament, this restriction has been lifted since last Friday,” Samaraweera said adding that the prices of some of the smaller vehicles that are used by low income populace as well as electric vehicles have actually come down.

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.

Former Finance Minister and economist Ronnie De Mel yesterday said that Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera has equalled his record of presenting eleven budgets in Parliament.

He said former President and Finance Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa has missed the opportunity of matching that record.

De Mel also said Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera has presented a people’s budget for the fiscal year 2019. He said Samaraweera has unveiled a budget that provides an upfront economic stimulus for a progressive economic path while providing various economic concessions to the public.

“According to my conscious, Finance Minister Samaraweera’s budget reflects the people’s needs,” he added.

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.

The United States Department of State's FY 2020 budget requests a total of $32.58 million to support Sri Lanka's economic development, demining and border control programs.

The United State President Donald Trump upholding his commitment to protect the country and put American interests first, has requested $40 billion for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 Department of State and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) budget.

The proposed FY 2020 Budget requests $27.2 million under the Economic Support and Development Fund (ESDF).

Programs under the ESDF will help countries of strategic importance meet near- and long-term political, economic, development, and security needs.

Under the Nonproliferation, Anti-Terrorism, Demining and Related Programs, the FY 2020 budgets seeks $5 million for Conventional Weapons Destruction which include humanitarian demining, small arms/light weapons (SA/LW) destruction, and efforts to improve the safety and storage of conventional munitions stockpiles.

Under the CWD program, the assistance will support efforts to safely and efficiently identify, remove, and neutralize remaining landmines and unexploded ordnance in contaminated areas in north and east Sri Lanka.

The proposed FY 2020 Budget requests $380,000 for Sri Lanka under the Export Control and Related Border Security (EXBS) program.

The EXBS Program is designed to help countries develop and improve their strategic trade and related border control systems. The EXBS Program provides a wide range of technical assistance, from executive exchanges to training workshops to the provision of detection equipment and specialized training for border control and enforcement agencies.

Another $900,000 is requested for International Military Education and Training in FY 2020.

The FY 2020 budget seeks $ 817.8 million under the ESDF to fund core national security objectives across South and Central Asia, including supporting a peaceful resolution to the Afghan conflict and promoting a free and open Indo-Pacific.

"Funding for South Asia will promote sustainable development to resist coercive economic practices and unsustainable debt; support energy generation and markets; and strengthen transparent governance and civil society participation," the Congressional Budget Justification for Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs said.

Further $124.4 million is requested for South and Central Asia under the International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement to control narcotics trade and enhance the security and stability in the region.

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.

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.