Until the late 1950s, the two major sources of revenues were a land tax and a tariff on foreign trade. After 1959, however, income, sales, and property taxes, as well as several other minor taxes, were introduced. An import-export tax and various business taxes, such as a sales tax, were the dominant sources of revenue. A land tax, which accounted for a considerable portion of revenue prior to 1960, no longer provided an important source of revenue. Income tax on individual incomes accounted for less than 7 percent of revenues. Most of the other taxes were progressive in nature. In the late 1980s, the total tax burden was about 10 percent of gross national product (GNP--see Glossary)--lower than in the neighboring countries of India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, which taxed at rates of 11 to 13 percent.
Data as of September 1991