Seven Lawmakers Propose Amendments to Economic Bill

Kathmandu. Seven lawmakers have proposed amendments to the government's economic bill. Lawmakers from various parties have proposed amendments to the bill presented by Finance Minister Dr. Swarnim Wagle in the House of Representatives meeting. The lawmakers proposing amendments include Hark Sampang, Hariprasad Bhusal, Sushil Khadka, Gangalakshmi Awal, Pushparaj Kandel, Parvati BK, and Narendra Kumar Kerung. Most of them have demanded the abolition of various taxes and fees. During the discussion, most lawmakers emphasized the need to remove the education and health equality tax. National Independent Party (RSP) lawmaker Hariprasad Bhusal withdrew his proposal and did not participate in the discussion. Although Shram Sanskriti Party lawmaker Hark Sampang withdrew his amendment, he did not participate in the discussion. Another RSP lawmaker, Sushil Khadka, complained that the bill explained the tax issue too much and was difficult to understand. He demanded that this be improved. Participating in the discussion, Nepali Congress lawmaker Gangalakshmi Awal demanded that the education and health equality tax be reduced to 1 percent, even if it cannot be made completely free. She demanded the immediate removal of education and health equality tax and said to the Finance Minister – ‘Inspect once, then put your hand on your chest and make a decision.’ Nepali Communist Party lawmaker Parvati BK also demanded the abolition of education and health equality tax. Another Congress lawmaker, Narendra Kumar Kerung, demanded the complete removal of education and health equality tax, stating that the ultimate burden of these taxes would fall on the general public. He has demanded the abolition of the provision to waive fines, penalties, and fees during tax proceedings under Section 46. Similarly, he has demanded the removal of the electricity service fee under Section 55 (1 A) and the related schedule from the bill. UML lawmaker Pushparaj Kandel raised technical and policy questions on various sections of the bill. He stated that Section 55, which allows the executive to take away the parliament's right to impose new taxes, should not be given such authority. Kandel criticized the introduction of marginal tax issues, which he said goes against the spirit of the progressive tax system. 'Why is there a need to reduce the tax by 10 percentage points for those who earn more?' he asked. He also demanded an explanation from the government regarding the process of approving external loans, saying, 'Where and how are external loans approved? Where is it?' Similarly, Kandel demanded that the provision in Section 27, which provides a 50 percent discount to insurance surveyors in case of private sector losses, be increased to 100 percent. He stated that the provision to provide VAT exemption on outstanding payments of cheese under Section 42 is not necessary. He suggested that the issue of applying multiple VAT rates should be studied further before proceeding, as previous studies have shown that it is 'better not to go'.