COLOMBO: Sri Lanka will cut excise taxes on small trucks by 300,000 rupees and motorcycles by between 50,000 to 90,000 as part of a program to boost youth entrepreneurship, Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera said.
An excise tax on small trucks and single cabs will be cut from the current one million rupees to 700,000 rupees. A 90,000 rupee excise tax on motorcycles below 150 cubic centimetre capacity engines will be removed. New excise will be based on engine capacity. Sri Lanka will also cut a 10 percent tax on data telecom from September. A series of subsidized credit schemes will also be made available to boost youth entrepreneurship. The interest subsidy will cost 4.5 billion rupees, which has already been built in the budget.