To annex Port City to Colombo Div. Sec. Resolution passed in Parliament

By Ajith Siriwardana and Yohan Perera   

The resolution brought in to annex the stretch of land of the Port City to the Colombo Divisional Secretariat in the Colombo Administrative District was passed in Parliament yesterday without a vote.  

The land area of 446.61 hectares on which the Port City is built, would be annexed to the Colombo Divisional Secretariat

“The Mid-Year Fiscal Position Report 2019 submitted to the House revealed that an initial estimate on the impact of the Easter Sunday attacks on the government revenue in the short term indicates that the direct contribution to the government revenue by affected sectors such as finance, tourism, trade and construction, will come down by Rs. 50 billion approximately,” the report said.  

The report added that the estimated loss of revenue could further increase due to the slowdown of economic activities during the remaining months in 2019.  

“Economic slowdown had already hindered the collection of internal taxes namely Value Added Tax (VAT) and Nation Building Tax in addition to other taxes collected on importation of goods. The loss of government revenue has been observed from the collection of fees and charges as well. This tendency will affect the revenue targets in 2019 including primary balance, budget and debt financing,” the report added.  

As per the report total government expenditure during the first four months of 2019 has been Rs. 962 billion.