- Casino licences increased to Rs 400mn
- Casino entrance cost increased to $50
- Import tax on luxury vehicles to be increased from midnight today. Minor tax increases on other vehicles.
- Expressway rush hour toll fee increased by Rs.100
- 250 million for the development of dry zone
- Royalty payments system to be developed for artists and actors.
- 1,000 million to beautify Colombo city12 billion has been allocated to implement the pension revision from July 2019.
Religious establishments will be allocated Rs.1 million each for development. Will also be provided additional Rs.300,000/- to obtain solar electricity.
Rs 200mn to develop the Madu Church - Development through reconciliation Budget2019 will ensure justice for all. will ensure past violence won’t recur and will work together for sustainable peace and development
- National Natural Disaster Insurance to be further strengthened by the.
- All plastic product importers should be registered before 1st September
- NBT to be imposed on Cigarettes price expected to increase by Rs 5 with effect from the 1st of June.
- Cess imposed on importation of Beedi leaves to be increased to Rs 3,500
- Rs.5000mn for Palmyrah funds
- Passport fares up
- Prices for vehicle special numbers have increased
- 200,000 families will get pipe borne water with an allocation of Rs.1500 million. GPS technology used to reduce traffic congestion, accidents & private buses racing on the road. 1000 air-conditioned busses added for city.
- Rs 5,000mn allocated for the light rail project which will begin this year.
- Hambantota District, which saw a splurge of mega projects like California style Highways, Chinese style Conference Halls & Sports Stadiums, have over 15,000 people without basic sanitary facilities.Will provide sanitation facilities in 2 years, benefit 1Mil citizens
- Pension anomalies to be corrected. Rs 12bn allocated for this purpose
- Teacher salary increase from 16,000 to 29,000
- All state sector workers will get an allowance of Rs. 2500 from July this year. Mangala Samaraweera says the salaries of state workers have been increased by 107% by the current government.
- Allowances given to armed forces to be increased. Commando allowance to be increased to Rs 5,000 Rent allowance to be increased by 100% Uniform allowance to be increased
- Bribery Commission to be strengthened. Rs 100mn allocated
- Technology and modernization measures to ensure the quality of public service
- Rs. 10 billion has been allocated to develop rural roads.Government is concerned about gender based budgeting
- Steps to amend Fiscal Management Act. Special attention from this Budget will be given to facilitate the poverty of poor people
- The government will continue to digitise government departments with an allocation of Rs.800 million. Smart Sri Lanka programme will continue.
- Samurdi is highly politicized and people who work for parties get the benefit despite poor being neglected. The needy people not receive the benefit. 600,000 are neglected due their political ideologies n based on which party they support
Work on 15,000 brick & mortar houses in the - Northern and Eastern Provinces will commence in 2019, with an allocation of Rs.4,500Mn being already made. A further Rs.5,500Mn will be made available for these initiatives.
- Will establish green societies in communities, villages
- Rs 1,000mn allocated for the Colombo beautification program of the CMC
- Rs 50mn allocated for the promotion of Kadolana plantations.
- Rs.2,410Mn has been allocated to complete the canals & head
works of 7 major projects in 2019, Deduru Oya Project, the
Menik Ganga Reservoir Project and the Morana Reservoir Project, which will directly benefit almost 21,000 families engaging in Agriculture. - Sri Lanka Army to conduct vocational training programs which will be NVQ qualified.
- Cancer Research Institute will be established at the Sri Jayewardenepura University
- Rs 600mn allocated for the development of the Suwaseriya program (over 2 years)
- For the first time, 2019 August the best 14 advanced level students will be sent to Harvard, Oxford, Cambridge and MIT on Government scholarships. In 2020 we expect to send more students. But they need to return & serve the country for 10 years.
- Rs. 100 million for training programmes for teachers.
- Bernard Aluvihare stadium in Matale and Mallamarachi ground in Kolonnawa to be developed
- Entrance fees to national parks and cultural sites to be reduced by 50% for foreign students.
- Rs 750mn allocated to develop Bogambara prison into a public space
- For the Yala Maha seasons LKR. 12,000 mn has been allocated for the construction of waterways in Wayamba, Maha Ela Minipe construction.
- Mobile app with GPS technology to track next bus in schedule to be initiated
- SLTB fleet to receive 250 new buses. Rs 1.5bn allocated for the project
- Rs 400mn allocated for training Tamil language teachers
- My Future- loan program of Rs 1.1 mn interest free for students who couldn’t get into universities after a/l with 2 years grace period.
- Rs 32,000mn for development of school infrastructure
- The Government has allocated funds through the 2019 Budget to resettle Muslims displaced during war
- Trade and productivity commission will be established to look into trade issues and eradicate tariff issue. Scripless Sri Lanka Bonds will be launched. Incentive package proposed to attract high-value FDA.
- Entrance fees to national parks and cultural sites to be reduced by 50% for foreign students.
- Residential Visa (3 years) for individuals who invested over USD 400,000 in condominiums
- Taxes on Go Kart to be relaxed to promote SriLanka as a preferred destination for Go Kart racing.
- Trade and productivity commission will be established to look into trade issues and eradicate tariff issue. Scripless Sri Lanka Bonds will be launched. Incentive package proposed to attract high-value FDA.
- The Government has allocated funds through the 2019 Budget to resettle Muslims displaced during war
- Import cess will be subject to phasing out para tariff phase out over five years
- Hotels can only sign up for online bookings from 1st April 2020 ONLY if they are registered with the SLTDA.
- Tourism: NBT removed on Foreign Currency receipts from registered hotels
- Revenue Intelligence Unit to be set up at the Ministry of Finance
- Trade and Productivity Commission to be set up under the MoDSIT. Rs 500mn over 2 years for Trade Adjustment program.
- Rs 250mn allocated for National Export strategy
- Sihina Maliga – Loan program for expat workers to commence from next month. Rs 10mn loan, 2 year grace period, to be paid in 15 years.
- HOME SWEET HOME – Loan program for newlyweds. Rs 10mn concessionary loans for middle-income earners who buy their first house. 6% interest rate, to be paid in 25 years.
- PILOT PROJECT: Rs 50mn allocated to create an arts and crafts village for female convicts
- PILOT PROJECT: Special farms to be set up in Ambepussa and Weeravila for people convicted of drug-related offences. To be under the prisons department.
- Rs 5,000 allowance for kidney patients. Rs 1,480mn allocated for the project.
- Government to amend the labour laws to enable the females to work from home and also to introduce flexible working hours.
- Free glass of milk for primary school children across the country – Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera presenting 2019 Budget
- Differently-abled persons receiving a monthly allowance of Rs 3,000 will be increased to Rs 5,000. Rs 4,320mn allocated for this.
- Measures to be taken to promote female participation in work force. Tax concessions for companies that grant 3 months of maternity leave.
- Only 30 % women represent the labour market of the country says Mangala Samaraweera
- People who use public transport cannot use public restrooms, each main bus stand and railway station to get new toilets. Toilets to be operated by private sector. Rs 4 bn to build toilet facilities.
- There are one million people without basic toilet facilities. There are 100,000 people in Hambanthota without basic toilet facilities… says Mangala Samaraweera
- Rs 1300mn allocated to build two fishing ports
- Enterprise SriLanka loan scheme will be spread across the country. Rs.60 billion already disbursed to over 30,000 recipients. Action will be taken against bank officers who discourage SMEs. 1925 is a hotline to lodge complaints.
- Rs 75mn allocated for Cinnamon training center. All exports will be checked for quality before export.
- Rs 800mn allocated to boost the production of Tyrres and Rubber products,.
- Taxes imposed on small trucks to be reduced
- Rs 500mn allocated for the development of the Enterprise Sri Lanka program
- Enterprise Sri Lanka to be expanded to provide concessionary loans to young entrepreneurs.
- Rs 48,000mn allocated for the Gamperilya development program.
- The parliamentary session on budget 2019 has commenced.
