The government expects taxes on goods and services to deliver close to 70% of next year’s increase in revenue, under a budget targeting Rs 6.15 trillion in collections, the Daily Mirror reports.
Revenue is projected to rise by Rs 199 billion, or 3.3%, from the revised 2026 estimate of Rs 5.95 trillion, the Daily Mirror reported. Adding Rs 30 billion in grants, total revenue and grants are forecast at Rs 6.18 trillion.
Where the money comes from
| Revenue line | 2027 target | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes on goods and services | Rs 3.59 trn | +Rs 138 bn |
| Income tax | Rs 1.34 trn | +Rs 30 bn |
| Taxes on external trade | Rs 754 bn | +Rs 41 bn |
| Total tax revenue | Rs 5.69 trn | +Rs 209 bn |
| Non-tax revenue | Rs 463 bn | −Rs 10 bn |
Taxes on goods and services account for nearly six rupees in every ten of government revenue. Their Rs 138 billion increase is roughly 69% of the Rs 199 billion total rise — the basis for the filing’s framing.
The arithmetic in the filing closes: the three tax lines add Rs 209 billion, the Rs 10 billion fall in non-tax revenue absorbs part of it, and the remainder is the Rs 199 billion headline increase.
Revenue still shrinks against the economy
The more consequential number is a ratio rather than a rupee figure. Even with higher collections in rupee terms, government revenue is projected to fall to 15.8% of GDP from 16.5% in the revised 2026 estimates, and tax revenue to 14.6% from 15.2%.
A 3.3% rise in revenue that still loses ground as a share of output implies the Treasury expects nominal GDP to grow faster than the tax take. The filing does not state the nominal growth assumption behind that, so the gap cannot be reconciled from the reporting.
What the measures cost
The Treasury puts the net effect of the budget’s revenue measures at a reduction of Rs 21.15 billion in 2027, against an annual cost of Rs 28.42 billion. Income tax revisions and the next phase of import CESS cuts account for most of the reduction.
The income tax relief
“Accordingly, a person receiving a monthly salary and allowances of up to Rs. 162,500 will not be required to pay tax on his or her salary,” President and Finance Minister Anura Kumara Dissanayake said in his budget speech.
The threshold rises from Rs 150,000 a month. Wider bands also move the point at which the top 36% rate applies to about Rs 433,000 a month, from Rs 358,000. This desk reported the threshold and bracket changes when the budget was presented on Thursday.
Not reported
The filing does not give the nominal GDP figure underlying the ratios, does not break down which goods and services taxes drive the Rs 138 billion increase — VAT, excise or the Social Security Contribution Levy — and does not say why non-tax revenue is expected to fall. It gives no expenditure or deficit figure against which the revenue target can be read; this desk reported the headline fiscal numbers separately.
On sourcing: this report rests on a single verified source. The filing carries the Daily Mirror’s DM Editorial byline rather than a named reporter — which, on this masthead, marks desk-produced copy rather than a submitted item. A sweep of the EconomyNext, Hiru News and NewsFirst rails found no other verified newsroom carrying this revenue-composition breakdown, which is drawn from the budget’s own estimates tables rather than from the speech.