At a Press Conference held at the Government Information Dept on Monday (02) he emphasised that all promises given by the government have been fulfilled with no draw backs whatever.  The government has also presented the budget.   Rs.5000 had been added to the salaries of public servants from February.  To rectify pension anomalies Rs.3000 will be added to the pension payments.  For the first time an allowance of Rs.20,000 will be given to expectant mothers.  The price of 13 essential commodities has been reduced while the price of gas has been reduced by Rs.300.  A certified price has been imposed on locally produced potatoes, onions, tea and rubber. 

A media person questioned the minister as to why the price of dhal, dry fish and rice has not been reduced.  The Minister’s reply was that the duty on dhal was a negligible amount of Rs.2 while dried fish is now been processed here.  Regarding the prices of rice, he said consideration has to be given to local paddy farmers too.  This question has been thought out with care to bring about a long term solution, the Minister emphasised.

This budget has introduced heavy taxes for non competitive enterprises. When imposing taxes on luxury houses taxes would be imposed considering their ancestral value and their standing.  In some cases a revision will be necessary.

“We did not introduce the mansion tax to tax those who have inherited their ancestral homes. Money made through illegal means has resulted in mansions popping up here and there. We have formulated certain parameters for this. We do not hope to tax those who have inherited their ancestral homes and also those who took a long time to build their houses. These parameters will be introduced in the near future, so the people do not need to panic”, the Minister reiterated.

Karunarathna Paravithana, Secretary to the Ministry of Mass Media and Parliamentary Affairs was associated with this press conference covnvened by Harsha de Silva, Minister of Plan Implementation and Economic Development .