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Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa, presented the Budget 2009 in the Parliament on Thursday. Presenting the budget as Minister of Finance, President Rajapaksa reiterated that he invites the LTTE to lay down arms and enter negotiations. If LTTE is not ready to accept his offer he will defeat them militarily, the president said. President Rajapaksa, delivering his fourth budget, also spoke in Tamil. The Budget proposals include suggestions to reduce the VAT by three per cent, bringing it down from 15 per cent VAT to 12 per cent next year. The new proposals have also reduced the, fuel prices with immediate effect. Diesel price has reduced by 30 rupees per litre and kerosene is reduced by 20 rupees. The budget proposed to bring down the petrol price by 15 rupees per litre. However the budget has increased the taxes levied on imported goods including sugar and milk products. The president has proposed a 1000 rupee increase to the cost of living allowance of public servants. | EXTERNAL LINKS The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Govt. revenue doubled in four years - President