State of the Budget 2026 Report released by Verité Research

Verité Research, Sri Lanka’s largest independent think tank, released the 5th edition of its annual State of the Budget report yesterday (30).

The report provides an independent analysis of Sri Lanka’s 2026 Budget, presented to Parliament by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.

It assesses four aspects of the budget: (1) Assumptions of the financial, economic, and fiscal foundations, (2) Accuracy of the basis and calculation of estimates, (3) Compliance with the Public Financial Management (PFM) Act, and (4) Adequacy with regard to information and integrity of the numbers.

The State of the Budget 2026 report shows an important improvement from the previous assessed years. That is, the revenue estimates in the budget are assessed to be realistic and reasonable within the existing policy context, unlike in the past.

However, the report also shows that several long-standing concerns remain unresolved. This includes inconsistent information, missing estimates, and inadequate disclosure of critical assumptions used in budget preparation.

The report and related analysis are available on PublicFinance.lk, the one-stop shop for public finance-related data and insights by Verité Research.

Link to the report - https://www.publicfinance.lk/en/report/state-of-budget-2026