More than 17 percent govt revenue expected from 2019 budget - Finance Ministry

The Ministry of Finance has said that one of the main aims of this year’s budget is to achieve government revenue of more than 17 percent of the Gross Domestic Production (GDP).

Issuing a press release, the Ministry of Finance said the funds for the ministries will be stipulated based on their projects.

The release further said that the recurring expenditure of this year’s budget will be limited to 15.1 percent while the government’s investments will continue to remain at 3.5 percent of the GDP.

In addition, the budget deficit and the government’s loans will be limited to 3.5 percent and 70 percent of the GDP respectively.

The Finance Ministry also said that the Appropriation Bill for 2019 will be submitted for cabinet approval next week while the Annual Budget will be tabled before Parliament on February 05 by Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera.

 The second and third reading of the budget will take place on March 05 and 13 respectively.

The budget will be taken up for a final vote on April 04.