News
Eran proposes raising PAYE threshold to Rs 200,000 a month
By Rathindra Kuruwita
Historically, Sri Lankan governments have failed to reduce the budget deficit, SJB MP Eran Wickramaratne says.
Sri Lankan governments have consistently looked at maximising revenue but paid minimal attention to curtailing expenditure, MP Wickramaratne has said.
Even the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had not factored in state expenditures when the latest bailout programme was designed, he said.
Compared to the 2022 budget, state expenditure had increased by 47 percent for 2024, Wickramaratne said.
“The expenses are about 11 percent higher compared to the 2023 budget. The total expenses of 2022 were Rs. 4.473 billion . The 2023 budget set the state expenses at Rs 5,854 billion. This has increased to Rs 6,563 billion in 2024,” he said.
The SJB MP said that during a crisis, the country must first curtail expenses.
“We must also look at how the government is spending our money. We have borrowed money and invested in things that will only make profits in the long term. For example, airports, ports, cricket stadiums and highways. It is not that these are important, but we have not been spending our savings on these projects, we have borrowed. And we have borrowed from foreign sources. We should have focused on trade and investments with the borrowed money,” he said.
There was a proposal to establish a budget office, he said. This has also been approved by parliament, the SJB MP said. However, the budget office has not been established in parliament yet, Wickramaratne said.
“We have always taken decisions thinking of elections. The current president was not selected in a national election. He is also the finance minister. He was ushered in due to the upheavals of 2022. If he can, for a moment, forget about elections, he can get the economy back on track. He could have presented a long term budget because it will take years to end this crisis. He can lay the foundation for economic recovery. But this was an election budget,” he said.
The SJB MP said the government has allocated 20 percent more funding to pay interest compared to 2023. Sri Lanka’s debt payment installments are about 72 percent of its annual revenue, he said.
“We are leading the world on this front. We need to stabilise the economy, and we need to get back on a growth trajectory. We can do this by taxing ourselves alone. People have no money to invest. We must increase the threshold for PAYE tax to 200,000 rupees a month,” he said.
Given that there are no domestic savings, Sri Lanka needs to attract a large number of foreign investors, Wickramaratne said. However, trust in Sri Lanka is low at the moment, he said.
The Department of Education has announced that the results of the 2024 General Certificate of Education Advanced Level Examination have been released online, and can be viewed on : www.doenets.lk
Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya stated that the training of teachers required for the new education reforms will commence in May, and that contracts granted to political cronies in local government institutions will be brought to an end following the upcoming local government elections.
The Prime Minister made these remarks while addressing public gatherings held in the areas of Mirigama, Minuwangoda, and Katana in the Gampaha District.
Addressing the gatherings, Prime Minister stated:
“From birth to death, all the aspects of life of a person are handled by local government institutions. However, to this day, these institutions lack proper systems even to provide the people with basic facilities.
We are committed to working with a proper system, free of fraud and corruption, and managing every rupee carefully and attentively. We are identifying the needs of people and implementing projects under a systematic plan to develop rural sectors.
You elect fellow members who stand firmly against fraud and corruption through two decisive elections. First, you elect Anura Kumara as President, a leader committed to fighting corruption. Then, in the parliamentary election, you choose a group of qualified individuals who are equally dedicated to this cause to represent you in Parliament.
To ensure that the funds allocated for rural development reach the people, the local government institutions which are the closest to the villagers must also be clean and transparent. That is why this election is so important to us.
The people and the villages come to experience our corruption-free political culture through local government institutions. These institutions must properly implement, monitor, and evaluate the development projects allocated to the rural sector. The era of awarding contracts for such projects to political cronies must end.
Although early childhood development is a crucial part of education, there has never been a proper system for it. We are now establishing such a system. Starting in May, teacher training for the modern education which is being introduced will begin. We have a comprehensive plan for development across all sectors.
The Ministry of Education has received billions worth of projects, but there is no proper implementation process. For example, 1,500 smart boards were brought for smart classrooms, but the Secretary to the Ministry has not implemented a system to distribute them to schools. Teachers have not been trained to use them. Teacher training institutes still follow outdated curriculum. This will be corrected through the new education reforms,
In order to deliver all these benefits to the rural sector efficiently, it is essential to elect the right people for the right purposes. Therefore, in the upcoming local government elections, Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya urged the public to vote for the candidates who are free from fraud and corruption presented by the National People’s Power (NPP).”
The event was attended by Parliament Chief Organizer of the ruling party Dharmapriya Wijesinghe, Members of Parliament Ruwanthilaka Jayakody and Chaminda Lalith Kumara, along with several local government candidates and the residents of the area.
[Prime Minister’s Media Division]
Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath will represent Sri Lanka at the funeral of Pope Francis in the Vatican City, the Ministry said.
The funeral is scheduled for today.
About 50,000 people came to pay their respects to the late Pope on Thursday, the Vatican news service said.
“Pope Francis’ funeral Mass will take place on Saturday, April 26, at 10:00 AM in St. Peter’s Square, marking the beginning of the Novemdiales, an ancient tradition of nine days of mourning and Masses for the repose of the late Pope’s soul,” according to the Vatican news service.
“The Novemdiales Masses will be held each day at 5:00 PM (GMT +2) in St. Peter’s Basilica, except for the Mass on Divine Mercy on Sunday, April 27, which will take place at 10:30 AM in St. Peter’s Square.”
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