President prepares budget with eye on election

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa is expected to present today a populist election budget for 2015 that manages to contain borrowing, thanks to an expected pick-up in the pace of economic growth.

Request for tax-free vehicles to teachers and principals

Teacher unions have requested the President to provide teachers and principals with the facility of obtaining vehicles tax-free through the upcoming Budget for 2015.

UNP to present its own budget proposals

The United National Party (UNP) will prepare and present its own budget to be implemented by a future UNP Government, Assistant Leader Ravi Karunanayake said yesterday.

Video: Bus fare hike in November: LPBOA

The Lanka Private Bus Owners Association (LPBOA) said that it would have to go for a bus fare hike in November if the private bus industry did not receive relief from the 2015 budget.

Govt. trying to hide borrowings: Dr. Harsha De Silva

The main opposition UNP yesterday charged that the government had adopted a fraudulent approach of hiding the borrowings made by various state institutions from the 2015 budget.

Budget 2015 development oriented; no election gimmicks

 Treasury Secretary, Dr. P.B Jayasundera, the key architect of President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s government said the forthcoming budget would not be full of election goodies as predicted by some quarters, but will be a development-oriented one as usual.

President to present Budget 2015 on Friday

President Mahinda Rajapaksa, as Minister of Finance and Planning, will on Friday present his Government’s Budget for 2015, to Parliament.

Treasury officials finalise 2015 budget under severe stress and strain

Despite severe pressure on making final adjustments to 2015 budget to be presented in parliament by the president on the 24th, Treasury’s National Budget Department and Department of Treasury Operations officials have finalised new proposals aiming to address emerging needs including the impending presidential election and gaps in all development sectors, official sources said.

CMA post-budget seminar on Oct. 27

The Taxation Committee of the Institute of Certified Management Accountants of Sri Lanka (CMA) will be conducting its budget seminar on "Budget Highlights 2015 - Tax Proposal & Impact on Business" on Monday, October 27 from 1.30pm - 5.30pm at the Hotel Taj Samudra.

Ranil: 10K rise for public servants

A future UNP government would give a Rs. 10,000 salary increment to public servants and a Rs. 2000 increment for pensioners until anomalies were resolved, United National Party (UNP) National Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe said yesterday in Kotte.