Government revenue jumped 27.2 per cent in the first half of 2026. That is good news for the Treasury. For taxpayers carrying the burden, the next question is what the State is doing with the money.
Sri Lanka’s tax and non-tax revenue climbed to approximately Rs.2.954 trillion during the first six months of 2026, compared with Rs.2.322 trillion during the corresponding period last year, according to figures presented to Parliament by Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya.
That represents an increase of 27.2 per cent. Tax revenue alone rose by 25.9 per cent, from approximately Rs.2.152 trillion to Rs.2.711 trillion.
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Collections by the Inland Revenue Department increased by 20.2 per cent to approximately Rs.1.248 trillion, while the Government attributed the broader improvement to stronger collections by Inland Revenue, Customs and Excise.
Non-tax revenue showed an even larger percentage increase, rising from Rs.169.6 billion to Rs.243.6 billion. But that number requires some qualification: approximately Rs.42 billion came from dividends transferred by the Central Bank.
On the face of it, this is welcome news.
A State that collects revenue more efficiently is better equipped to reduce deficits, service debt and provide public services without continually borrowing its way out of trouble.
But Sri Lanka’s fiscal recovery cannot ultimately be measured merely by how efficiently the Government extracts revenue.
For the businessman paying corporate tax, the employee facing PAYE, the family paying VAT and the consumer paying taxes embedded in almost everything purchased, there is a corresponding question: what are we receiving for it?
Better revenue collection becomes a genuine national achievement only when accompanied by better expenditure discipline, less waste, transparent procurement and demonstrably improved public services.
The Treasury’s numbers are moving strongly in the right direction.
Now the expenditure side of the ledger deserves exactly the same scrutiny.
