Econ: Recent submissions

Now showing items 21-40 of 277

    • 2023 Budget's revenue target missed by LKR 382 Bn 

      Public Finance Infographics;
      Econ Team       (Verité Research, 2024-08)
      The Ministry of Finance Annual Report, released on 31st May 2024, shows that in 2023, total revenue including grants fell short of the Budget target by LKR 382 billion or 11%. In 2023, actual total revenue and grants ...

    • Petrol and Diesel vs. fuel price formula in July (2024) 

      Public Finance Infographics;
      Econ Team       (Colombo: Verite Research, 2024-07-03)
      Following the monthly fuel price revision for July, the market price of 92-octane petrol is LKR 16.67 above the fuel price formula, and the market price of Auto diesel is LKR 21.68 above the fuel price formula, as shown ...

    • How did the government revenue rise by 53% in 2023? 

      Public Finance Infographics;
      Econ Team       (Colombo: Verite Research, 2024-06-03)
      The Central Bank's Annual Economic Review for 2023 shows that government revenue increased significantly by 53% (LKR 1,062 billion) compared to 2022. This growth was driven by a broad range of taxes, with VAT contributing ...

    • How did the government finance its expenditure in 2023? 

      Public Finance Infographics;
      Econ Team       (Colombo: Verite Research, 2024-05-27)
      The 2023 fiscal numbers, recently released through the Central Bank of Sri Lanka's Annual Economic Review, reveal that the Government of Sri Lanka's total expenditure for 2023 was LKR 5,357 billion. A significant portion ...

    • Where do 92 Octane and Auto Diesel stand after the recent price reduction? (June 2024) 

      Public Finance Infographics;
      Econ Team       (Colombo: Verite Research, 2024-06-14)
      On 31 May 2024, fuel prices in Sri Lanka were reduced. The price of 92-octane petrol was lowered by LKR 13, bringing it to LKR 355 per litre, while Auto diesel saw a reduction of LKR 16, lowering the price to LKR 317 per ...

    • 2023 government expenditure surge matches the increase in interest payments​ 

      Public Finance Infographics;
      Econ Team       (Colombo: Verite Research, 2024-06-26)
      Government spending increased by 20% in 2023, reaching LKR 5,357 billion, up from LKR 4,473 billion in 2022. This LKR 884 billion increase was primarily due to an LKR 890 billion rise in interest payments. In contrast, ...

    • Sri Lanka’s IMF Programme Was Supposed To Succeed by Improving Governance. Will It? 

      Public Finance Infographics;
      Econ Team       (2024-06)
      On June 12, the IMF board will sign off on Sri Lanka’s third disbursement under the current programme. But Sri Lanka is still failing on the governance improvements that are foundational for its economic recovery. According ...

    • Public Report on the 2021 Budget - Assessment of the Fiscal, Financial and Economic Assumptions Used in the Budget Estimates 

      Econ Team (Colombo: Verité Research, 2020-11)
      The 2021 budget presented to parliament on 17 November 2020 sets out the government’s proposals for raising public funds through taxation and proposals for expenditure during the year. These proposals form the key components ...

    • Public Finance Training for Journalists and Civil Society Organizations - 2023 (Presentation) 

      Sureni, Weerathunga; Siyama, Ansar (2023)
      Verité Research conducted a series of public finance training sessions specifically designed for journalists and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs). The objectives of the training were to improve journalists' and CSOs' ...

    • Gender-based Budgeting for 2024: More Tokenism or True Commitment? 

      de Silva, Venya; Kemps, Portia (Colombo: Daily Mirror, 2023-12-07)
      With the committee stage debates on Budget 2024 still ongoing, our interest has been piqued by a term that has gained relatively little attention since it was mentioned in the Budget Speech presented on 13 November 2023: ...

    • Zoned Out: Export Ambitions Hindered by Land Limitations 

      Abeysinghe, Subhashini; Arangala, Mathisha (Colombo: Daily Mirror, 2023-10-12)
      The experiences of East Asian and Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand, show that foreign direct investment (FDI) into export-oriented sectors is critical to accelerate growth in manufactured ...

    • The Troubling Lack of Compliance by Public Authorities With RTI Act 

      Weerasooriya, Nishana; Talayaratne, Shannon (Colombo: Daily Mirror, 2023-09-28)
      Today (28 September) marks the international day for universal access to information. This year’s theme is ‘the importance of the online space for access to information'. Public access to information is an essential element ...

    • Schrodinger’s Banks: The Immediate Need for Policies to Ensure Financial Stability 

      Peiris, Udara (Colombo: Daily Mirror, 2023-09-14)
      Sri Lanka is entering into a new, dangerous phase in its economic recovery. Although macroeconomic stabilisation has made progress, financial stabilisation needs immediate attention. The combination of covid-era loans and ...

    • Large Scale Infrastructure, Small Scale Disclosure: Fertile Ground for Corruption 

      Abeysinghe, Subhashini; Pabasara, Chathuni (Colombo: Daily Mirror, 2023-08-31)
      Large sums of money borrowed for large infrastructure projects is a key contributor to Sri Lanka’s Mountain of foreign debt, which the country is struggling to pay back. Lack of transparency, coupled with poor governance ...

    • Too Many ‘Known Unknowns’ in Sri Lanka’s IMF Programme 

      de Mel, Nishan (Colombo: Daily Mirror, 2023-08-17)
      Sri Lanka’s programme is planned to deliver 71 outcomes by the end of September. Presently, as of the end of July, 35 are “met” and 14 are “unknown”. There are 8 more that are “not met”. That means the ratio of unknowns ...

    • Another Export Target Destined to Be Missed? 

      Abeysinghe, Subhashini; Arangala, Mathisha (Colombo: Daily Mirror, 2023-08-03)
      In a recent statement, Sri Lanka's Export Development Board (EDB) announced plans to secure USD 31.3 billion revenue from total exports (both goods and services) by 2027. The EDB expects to double goods export revenue from ...

    • The Best Next Step for Improving Tax Collection 

      Siyambalapitiya, Sumini (Colombo: Daily Mirror, 2023-07-21)
      In 2021, the country’s tax revenue as a share of gross domestic product (GDP)reached its lowest level since 1959 – dropping to just 8%. Increasing tax-to-GDP ratio is one of the most important measures of Sri Lanka’s ability ...

    • Calculating the Loss to the EPF From Proposed DDR 

      de Mel, Nishan (Colombo: Daily Mirror, 2023-07-12)
      Justice and good decision-making flows in part, from the discipline of public reasoning. The belief in democracy is anchored in the hope of harnessing the power of reasoned decision making that is openly and dialogically ...

    • Let’s Shield the EPF With the Instincts of Winston Churchill 

      de Mel, Nishan (Colombo: Daily Mirror, 2023-07-06)
      The private sector workers of Sri Lanka are required by law to transfer 23% of their incomes to the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) and the Employees’ Trust Fund (ETF) every month, towards their retirement savings. The EPF ...

    • Why Does Sri Lanka Claim It Has Less Capacity Than Least Developed Countries for Trade Facilitation? 

      Abeysinghe, Subhashini; Arangala, Mathisha (Colombo: Daily Mirror, 2023-06-22)
      Higher costs and time resulting from opaque, complex, time consuming, manual export and and import procedures discourage businesses from engaging in international trade and undermine their international competitiveness. ...