The Excise taxes on products such as cigarettes and alcohol are a significant source of government revenue. Understanding how these taxes should be adjusted in keeping with price increases and being diligent in implementing ...

Sri Lanka was amongst the early movers in trade and economic liberalisation in South Asia. However, this initiative was somewhat backtracked upon in the past 10 years. This insight points out that, despite the claims, the ...

This Insight shows two worrying trends in the Trade and Investment Freedoms of Sri Lanka, using the 2015 Index of Global Economic Freedom to derive the analysis. First is that although the country’s Investment and Trade ...

This Insight looks at a different dimension of the problem of growing tourism in Sri Lanka using the World Economic Forum’s Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI) to derive the analysis. This global index assesses ...

Sri Lanka’s 2014 Budget claims a continuous commitment by the government to maintain a liberal, consistent and simple trade regime. The budget speech puts it this way: “A four band tariff structure presently in place is ...

Over 50 percent of Sri Lanka’s exports go to the USA and the West. While Sri Lanka’s total exports remain tilted towards the USA and the West, growth is tilting to the East, and more towards Asia. The consequence of the ...

The prime minister of Sri Lanka made a policy statement on 5th November 2013 to indicate the future priorities of the new government. It had over 70 inspirational statements indicating a wide array of issues and subjects ...

In Sri Lanka, ‘Cess’ is the name given to a special tax imposed on sales, where the revenue is earmarked for a specific fund with a particular economic purpose. This article discusses how the government has stymied export ...

The 2015 Global Competitiveness Report (GCR) of the World Economic Forum shows that Sri Lanka is ranked 68 out of 140 countries. Compared to last year, Sri Lanka has improved its ranking by five places. This article provides ...

A regular feature of Sri Lanka’s public debates and writing on economic issues is that they are infused with factual inaccuracies or claims that are quite misleading. This reflects poor political and public understanding ...