President directs attention to low direct taxes

The president while delivering the government’s policy statement, claims that the share of direct taxes collected in Sri Lanka is lower compared to many Asian countries and suggests that increasing the share of direct taxes would reduce the tax burden (indirect taxes) on the “general public” (interpreted here as “wider lower-income population”). To check

Patali - True on SL’s uneasy equilibrium, false on fuel bill savings

In an exclusive interview with the Daily Mirror, the MP cites the reduction in the monthly fuel bill as an example of why Sri Lanka’s current economic “normalcy” is on an “uneasy equilibrium”. In his example, he says that the country is saving around USD 350 million a month by cutting down the fuel bill from around USD 550 million to USD 200 m

Siyambalapitiya hugely magnifies fiscal difficulties for holding LG elections

The state minister made this statement in the context of explaining the details of an affidavit filed at the Supreme Court on January 18 by the Secretary to the Treasury. The affidavit is reported to state that the Treasury is finding it challenging to secure funds for an election as it is operating under the prevailing economic crisis. The statements of the state minister provide numbers ind

Minister Wijesekera: Overstates the most pessimistic scenario of the already overstated loss scenarios of the CEB

FactCheck.lk interprets the minister as claiming that the shortfall between the Ceylon Electricity Board’s (CEB) revenue and cost will amount to approximately LKR 489 billion for 2023, despite the increase in electricity tariffs in August 2022. To evalu

MP Abeysinghe unrealistic on revenue estimates being unrealistic

The MP makes two claims: (1) The 2023 budget estimate has a revenue increase of 70 % from 2022, while the increases have never been over 20% in the past. (2) This revenue estimate at over LKR 3,000 billion is the highest in Sri Lankan history, and that it has never been more than LKR 2,000 billion in the past. Through these claims, the MP is arguing that the revenue target for 2023 is unprecedented and unrealistic in terms of the percentage incre

MP Ganesan right when he spoke, on gap between estate sector and the rest

The MP in his statement effectively makes two claims on the gap between the estate sector and the rest of the country: (1) that poverty is almost double, and (2) that food insecurity in the estate

MP Alagiyawanna: It became more ok to breathe in Sri Lanka between 2018 and 2021

The minister refers to a ranking index on air quality to claim that Sri Lanka has significantly improved its air quality standing in Asia and in the world between 2018 and the present. To verify the

State minister Siyambalapitiya fails on success of tax collection

The statement attributed to the state minister (i) cites the tax revenue collected by the IRD (by end September) as 68.4% of the LKR 915 billion target (LKR 625.9 billion) [in the 2022 budget], and (ii) ci

AKD fumbles the numbers on higher malnutrition in Nuwara Eliya

In his statement, the MP claims that the hill country region, noting Nuwara Eliya specifically, has a higher prevalence of malnutrition than Sri Lanka in general. To check this claim, FactCheck.lk consulted data from the Family Health Bureau and the Ministry of Health Annual Health Bulletin from 2019.

MP Pathirana numbers on malnutrition are under-nourished

The MP in his statement provides figures to establish that malnutrition in Sri Lanka has been decreasing since 2009. Malnutrition i

BudgetCheck2023 by FactCheck.lk

Central govt. spending on defence and highways have been significantly higher relative to spending on health and education. Therefore, low spending on health and education reflects a policy of lower relative priority and cannot be only attributable to low revenue.

MP Wickramaratne on SOE losses: right on gross not on net

The MP makes two claims about the losses of 52 strategically important SOEs (as classified by the Ministry of Finance): (1) LKR 286 billion in 2021, (2) LKR 966 billion by the second quarter of 2022

President Wickremesinghe lands on his feet on government land ownership

In his statement, the president makes two claims—(i) the government owns approximately 80% of all land, and (ii) the government is able to allocate land for investment purposes. To check these claims, FactCheck.lk consulted reports from the World Bank (WB) and the UN-REDD programme.

MP Siyambalapitiya quite sober on alcohol and tobacco taxes

Tobacco and alcohol are currently charged an excise tax and value-added-tax (VAT) by the government. To check

MP Mahindananda misled by mislabelling in govt. reporting

FactCheck.lk interpreted the MP as making three claims, that in the year 2021, (1) there were 507,000 registered taxpayers

Minister Gunawardana taxes the facts on problem of revenue

The minister in his statement claims that most of the government’s tax revenue is being spent on state sector salaries and pensions and only a fraction of it is left for other initiatives. To chec

CBSL governor good on reduced export of goods

The governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CSBL) is reported as claiming that: (1) Sri Lanka’s export earnings as a percentage of Gross National Product (GNP) by 2001 stood at around 33%, and (2) it has dropped to below 15%, since 2001. To evaluate this claim, FactCheck.lk consulted annual reports and export statistics of the CBSL. FactCheck.lk assumed that, despite the phrasing in the article, the governor was referring to export earnings as

MP De Silva on target on difficulty of IMF target

To check the MP’s claims, FactCheck.lk consulted the press release issued by the IMF and the 2021 Annual Report of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL). The primary account balance is calculated as revenue minus expenditure

Hashim right on the trillion on SOE borrowings

The MP in his statement claims that government institutions have borrowed more than LKR 1 trillion by December 2021. FactCheck.lk interprets the MP as referring to State Owned Enterprises (SOEs), where the loan book liability is not reflected in the central government accounts.

Minister Gunawardana on track on railways

The minister made this statement in the context of justifying the upward revision of railway fares. To check this claim, FactCheck.lk consulted the approved Budget Estimates for 2022 and the Annual Report 2021, published by the Ministry of Finance (MoF). As per th

President Wickremesinghe correct about Sri Lankan Airlines’ soaring losses

The current president made this claim while he was the Prime Minister. To evaluate the claim, FactCheck.lk consulted the Sri Lankan Airlines (SLA) Annual Reports from 2007 to 2021. Each annual report gives the profits and losses for a financial year, which runs from April to March.

MP Wickremaratne a little bit over on inflation

The MP in his statement claims that in April 2022 food inflation is 46.6% and in the month of May 2022 it has increased to 57%, which is an increase of more than 10% in just one month alone. To che

President Wickremesinghe understates the government expenditure

In his maiden televised address to the nation as prime minister on May 16, 2022, President Ranil Wickremesinghe, as the prime minister at the time, presented the previously approved budget estimates and the revisions it required.

Deputy UNP Leader Ruwan Wijewardene does no disservice to past debt servicing costs

FactCheck.lk interpreted “loans taken” as referring to net additions to the loan book of the government. The net addition is calculated as loans taken minus the capital repayment on existing loans. Therefore, we interpret the “settling loans” to refer to settling the interest payment on the previous loans.

Former president misunderstands democracy as unconstitutional

Former President Sirisena made this statement in connection with the events of July 9, 2022. He appears to be making three distinct claims about the current crisis: (1) that former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s resignation occurring due to the intensity of the protest was an unconstitutional event; (2) that elected leaders no longer have the power

No credit due for Sabry’s statement on bankruptcy

In his statement, the MP claims that Sri Lanka’s assets are USD 400 billion, and commitments are USD 47 billion, therefore Sri Lanka is not bankrupt, but instead does not have the dollars to meet its day-to-day expenses. In th

Justice Minister Rajapakshe does injustice to constitutional interpretation

The minister made this statement in the context of calls for the abolition of the executive presidency. In his statement

CBSL Governor suitably assesses suitability of EFF for Sri Lanka

In his statement, the governor claimed that the Extended Fund Facility (EFF), which has a longer repayment period and requires structural reform, is best suited for Sri Lanka. To evaluate the s

Sabry over charges past governments on tax collections

In his statement the MP claims that tax revenue as a percentage of GDP has decreased under every government since 1981. To check this claim,

President Rajapaksa cites misleading numbers on past borrowing

In his statement, the president claims that the present government is burdened with having to pay various debts taken by previous governments. As an example, he cites that before 2015 Sri Lanka had only borrowed USD 5 billion worth of International Sovereign Bonds (ISBs); and that the 2015-2019 government had increased ISB borrowings to USD 15 billion.