Loans as a percentage of GDP down

Uditha KUMARASINGHE and Irangika RANGE

Trade and Consumer Services Minister Bandula Gunawardena told Parliament yesterday that the loans obtained by the Government as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which was 105 per cent during the former UNP Government has come down to 85 per cent.

The intention of the Government is to reduce this existing figure to 65 percent in the near future. Therefore the Opposition should extend its support to the Government to bring down this figure to 65 per cent, the Minister said.

Whatever Government is in power, the highest amount of taxes are obtained by imposing taxes on fuel, tobacco and liquor. If a Government does not do so, it would directly lead to an increase in the budget deficit, he said.

The Minister said there is no country in the world which sells goods at the purchasing price. The Government has already given a Rs. 40 subsidy per litre of diesel, Rs. 37 subsidy per litre of petrol, Rs. 30 subsidy per litre of kerosene oil and Rs. 40 subsidy per litre of furnace oil.

The Government decides the prices of goods after matching them with entire tax system of the country.

The inflation rate which was 28 per cent during the past period has come down to 7.6 per cent now. This is due to measures taken by the Government to handle the tax system properly, he said.