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Sri Lanka Business Report
General information
Source: The World Factbook - Central Intelligence Agency
Population
22,576,592 (July 2018 est.)GDP (PPP)
$275.8 billion (2017 est.)GDP growth rate
3.3% (2017 est.)High, though it has slowed from previous years
GDP (PPP) per capita
$12,900 (2017 est.)Low, but much higher than neighboring India
Local currency
Sri Lankan Rupee (LKR)Weak currency which has depreciated continuously throughout the past 5 years
Financial stability (Public debt)
79.1% of GDP (2017 est.)Medium to high: it is one of the highest of the emerging markets. Moreover, it increased sharply from 2012
Inflation
6.5% (2017 est.)High and unstable
Language
Sinhala (87%) and Tamil (28.5%) both officialEnglish is the most important language for commercial communication
Corruption perception index (Source: Transparency International)
Rank 89/180Very high level of corruption
Duties and tax
Source: PwC World Tax Summaries 2017-2018
VAT
15% standard VAT rateCertain specified imports and domestically supplied goods and/or services are exempt
Corporate Tax
Three income tax rates: 14%, 28%, and 40%For the most of the business it is 14%. Higher rates (28%, 40%) are used for soe kind of businesses (e.g. Tobacco)
Duties
Simplified three-tier tariff structureCurrent rates are 15%, 30%, and 0% (applies to few goods)
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