9 November 2017 08:12 pm
Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera in his maiden Budget referred to the introduction of the open market policy in 1977 but said the country lost its momentum because many of the laws were archaic.
“The Customs Ordinance was first introduced in 1869. The Excise Ordinance in 1912. The Education Ordinance in 1939. This House was able to introduce a new Inland Revenue Act (IRD) recently. Much more has to be done. For example; the Rent Act No:7 of 1972 which limits the ownership of houses and the rent to be charged requires amendments; the Paddy Lands Act No:1 of 1958 and the Agricultural Lands Act No:42 of 1973 will be amended to allow the farming of alternative crops; the Shop and Office Employees Act No.15 of 1954 will be amended allowing employees flexibility to choose their working hours and bankruptcy laws will be amended to make them more efficient. I am confident that the proposed changes will enable Sri Lanka to be a more vibrant and a dynamic market economy," he said.
Referring to the Blue-Green Economy, he said it would generate growth by utilizing what he called the much under-utilized ocean resources and facilitating the diversification of the economy with the adoption of new and sustainable technologies especially in agriculture.
For the first time, the government laid emphasis on a new vehicle policy. The minister said all vehicles in the country should be powered by non-fossil fuel sources by 2040.
“To this end, all Government vehicles will be converted to hybrid or electric vehicles by 2025. In this context, we will be introducing an appropriate incentive structure. As such, the taxes on the import of electric vehicles including electric three-wheelers, cars and buses will be reduced while rationalizing the import taxes on vehicles powered by fossil fuel. The new formula for import taxes will be based on the engine capacity which will minimize revenue leakages. The import taxes on an electric car will be reduced by at least Rs.1 million while the import tax on the high-end fossil fueled cars will be increased by almost Rs.2.5 million. We will also impose a special tax on super luxury vehicles with an engine capacity exceeding 2,500 cc.
“Proposed changes in the A/L subject combinations ensuing degree programmes in line with the STEM+A (Arts) concept will allow students to offer combinations such as Mathematics with Music, Science with Drama etc. at the A/Ls equipping students with attributes essential to modern day demands,” he said. (Yohan Perera and Ajith Siriwardane)
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