* Finance Minister concludes budget speech
* Committee of private and public sector to ensure budget implementation
* Corporate income tax to be revised to a 3-tier structure 14%, 28% and 40%. WHT increased from 10% to 14%
* Tax incentive for exporting of vehicles
* Income tax to be streamlined
* Reduce indirect taxes to 60 percent from 80 percent
* Reduce price of Dhal by Rs10, potatoes Rs5, Sprats Rs5, White Sugar by Rs2, Kerosene Rs5, Gas Rs25 by 12.5kg cylinder.
* Highway toll to be reduced by Rs50 from 9 pm to 5 am
* Residential solar consumers to get Rs1,500 mln allocation for 50% interest benefit.
* Rs25mln for establishment of the Pandit Amaradeva Music Centre
* Rs600 mln for regional courts, and residential facilities
* Set up a separate Debt Office to curb debt servicing costs
* Common booking platform to compete with Airbnb, Agoda as they do not pay tax, in discussions with the hotel industry
* A contributory pension scheme with allocation of Rs1,000 mln
* Re-employment of skilled workers to public sector to fast track projects
* Minimum wages for foreign workers
* Rs50 mln for a film archive
* Loans for Rs300,000 for equipment for media personnel
* Foreigners can buy condominiums with a loan up to 40% of the value
* Rs4 bln for National Youth Services Council and Youth Corp
* New securities act during 1Q2017, separate board at CSE for SMEs for low cost capital
* 25 new firms should list on CSE during 2017
* CTC requested to contribute Rs500 mln for President's Fund
* Rename Samurdhi welfare scheme as Jana Isuru.
* Consumer Financial Protection Authority to be established
* Allocate Rs3bn to help Golden Key depositors
* Form a PPP company to bring all telecom towers under one company
* Debt recovery act to be extended to cover finance companies
* Benchmarking of 2-, 5-, 10-year bonds
* Euroclear platform for bonds
* Create REITs
* Rs10bn allocation as initial capital for asset management for failing financial companies
* Diversify generation of electricity to LNG and green energy sources
* Prepaid card scheme for bus users
* Interest subsidy for electric cars to replace trishaws
* Central Bank regulation to improve for Pyramid Schemes
* CPC and Indian Oil to develop Trinco upper oil tank farm
* Rs250 mln for desalination plants in Jaffna Puttalam
* Pipe-borne water to be increased for 12 mln consumers from 9 mln
* Rs1,000 mln for the MICE industry.
* School van owners to be encouraged to switch to 32-seater buses with incentives
* Rs100 mln for biotech farm
* Tourist police in key areas
* Luxury yacht services to be encouraged
* Rs500 mln interest subsidy for hotel refurbishment
* Linking Badulla district to southern expressway
* Entrepot trading to be encouraged
* Mobitel public listing after request by company
* Listing of non-strategic enterprises Hyatt, Grand Orient Hotel, Hambantota Salt, Waters Edge in 2017
* Tax holidays for large-scale investments in under developed regions of the country
* Encourage Sri Lankan participation in international fairs in Canton, Germany other countries
* Colombo Fair to showcase Sri Lankan products in Oct 2017, Rs50 mln allocation
* Rs10,000 mln allocation for local exim bank with local industry
* 75% waiver of PAL for construction sector
* Rs7,500 mln allocation to Megapolis Ministry from Finance Ministry
* Foreign currency declarations by foreigners limit to be increased to USD40,000 from USD15,000
* Encourage foreign investors to benefit from interest rate differential, create appropriate framework
* Incentives for high-tech equipment imports
* 5-year multiple entry visas for suitable investors
* 200% capital allowance for businesses in the north, 100% capital allowances for investment above USD3 mln excluding land in Uva or East
* Exchange Control Act to be repealed
* Amnesty for those blacklisted by CRIB with default credit history of up to Rs500,000
* Castle Maternity Hospital in Borella will be upgraded under a PPP model with Rs3bn
* 45 hours flexible hours for private sector
* KPO, BPO requires flexible working hours, this requires revision of labour laws
* Shops can be open till 11 pm, bus operators to support this
* Time to startup a company to be reduced to four days from 10 days, registrar of companies to support
* Ease of doing business, reduce 8 process to 5 process by 2019
* Rs100 mln to National Science Foundation to study kidney disease
* E-learning center at University of Kelaniya with Rs250mn
* Rs750 mln additional allocation for kidney disease study
* Private universities will be encouraged based on a world class rating system
* Vocational training students to be channeled to private sector
* Providing scholarships for vocational training to anyone Rs300 mln
* Tourism 100,00 and textiles 60,000 skilled labour requirement, this is a serious issue
* Centre for gender violence and prevention of ragging in universities, Rs10 mln
* 5-year multiple entry visas for students who wish to study in Sri Lanka
* We want to double university intake of students by 2020
* Scholarships for top students to study at Harvard, MIT and Singapore universities
* Rs250 mln to develop plantation schools in Kegalle and Badulla
* New scholarship scheme for top performing school students, Rs2000 paid monthly
* Rs5bn allocated to provide Wi-Fi and Tabs for 100,000 graduates entering state Universities
* Free tabs for school children, telcos to set up Wi-Fi
* There is about Rs32bn unused 2016 expenditure
* 3,500 schools will receive computers with Rs5 bln allocation
* Rs2 bln additional allocation to provide basic facilities in our schools
* 50% concession on loan interest for paddy, fruit & vegetable farmers
* Rs200 mln to examine water in eight districts
* Rs100 mln to develop the local poultry sector
* Maximum price of kilo of chicken of Rs420 will be relaxed
* Automated commodity exchange for tea, rubber coconut at Rs75 mln cost
* Export rebate for animal food producers
* Rs500 mln to establish aquatic zones
* Rs400 mln to boost fresh milk production
* A 2 percent cess for imported sugar and 5 percent for ethanol to protect local producers
* Investors in sugar industry will be encouraged in Moneragala, Batticaloa, Kilinochchi
* Abolish the import export control fee of 1 percent on CIF price on tea to remove the fee of packing of tea.
* Import of CTC teas will be allowed for re-export with value addition
* Taxes for Tea industry will be simplified
* US dollar loans for brand promotion in Tea
* State plantation performance has been erratic, for more effective management will be limited to 5,000 acres
* Concessionary loans for agriculture cooperatives will be provided
* Alternative pension scheme is vital as the current scheme creates issues into the future
* Special attention will be given to reduce government debt
* We want to introduce Key Performance Indicators in the public sector
* Improve accessibility for financial resources and opportunities for everyone
* Markets will be boosted for SMEs
* We want to improve the economy through ocean resources
* We don't want free trade but fair trade by improving efficiency, removing exchange controls and improving BOI for export development.
* We have been able to limit inflation, this is an important achievement
* Reducing the budget deficit is a priority
* President Maithripala Sirisena enters the chamber
* Theme of the 2017 budget is "Speedy development with returns for all"
* Prices of essential goods and fuel were reduced to support consumers
* Investment zones will be set up to support the private sector
* Medium term proposals to boost industry, agriculture
* Several proposal planned to attract investment, strengthen rule of law
* Finance Minister commences budget speech
* Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake enters the Parliament chambers to present the 2017 Budget proposals
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