COLOMBO (NewsRadio); The 2023 Budget presented by President Ranil Wickremesinghe in his capacity as Minister of Finance has been passed with a majority of 43 votes in Parliament.
123 Members of Parliament voted in favour of the third reading of the budget while 80 MPs voted against the Bill.
Two MPs abstained from voting.
Final vote on the 2023 Budget was called after Parliament approved the expenditure heads of the Ministries of Finance, Economic Stabilization and National Policies and Investment Promotion today.
The division was called by Chief Opposition Whip Lakshman Kiriella.
The debate on the third reading of the Budget took place for 13 days in Parliament.
The debate on the third reading of the 2023 Budget or the committee stage debate got underway on the 23rd of November.
Meanwhile, the second reading of the 2023 Budget was passed with a majority of 37 votes in Parliament on the 22nd of November.
121 Members of Parliament voted in favour of the Budget while 84 MPs voted against it.
The division on the second reading of the 2023 Budget was called by Chief Opposition Whip Lakshman Kiriella after Members of Parliament debated the 2023 Appropriation Bill for seven days in Parliament.
The second reading of the 2023 Appropriation Bill or the Budget speech was delivered in Parliament by President Ranil Wickremesinghe in his capacity as the Minister of Finance on the 14th of November.
This was also the maiden annual budget speech of President Wickremesinghe.
According to the 2023 Budget estimates, the total revenue and grants is expected to be Rs. 3,415 billion.
The total expenditure is estimated to be Rs. 5,819 billion.
Accordingly, the government is aiming to reduce the budget deficit to 7.9 percent next year from an estimated 9.8 percent this year.
