Sri Lanka, June 9 -- For many young Sri Lankan couples today, owning a small car, purchasing a modest home, raising a family, or building middle-class security increasingly feels less like a realistic ambition and more like an unreachable dream. An entry-level car that may cost between USD 6,000 and 8,000 in India, around USD 10,000 to 12,000 in China, or around USD 20,000 in the United States can cost vastly more in Sri Lanka once taxes, duties, levies, and charges are added. Housing, too, has become prohibitively expensive relative to incomes. Even an ordinary family meal at a restaurant now often comes with taxes and service charges that significantly increase the final bill, placing additional strain on already stretched household budge...