Monday, May 20, 2019

Private sector asks to lower corporate tax

The private sector has asked the government to reduce corporate income tax by five per cent, give 50 per cent waiver on tax levied by local governments on land and housing registration, especially for those meant for industry and hotel business. They also want excise duty scrapped on all merchandise, except tobacco and liquor.
During a meeting with the finance minister Dr Yuba raj Khatiwada – a week before the announcement of budget for fiscal year 2019-20 – today the private sector reminded the government that it has failed to fully implement past budgets. “In this context, the incumbent strong government should bring a budget that ensures implementable budgetary programmes and policies.”
“The country has historically failed to execute budgetary programmes and policies,” president of Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) Bhawani Rana said, adding that the budget for the next fiscal year should focus on it.
Submitting a joint recommendation – for the first time – to finance minister Khatiwada, the FNCCI, Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI) and Nepal Chamber of Commerce (NCC) urged for the measures to be adopted in banking, industrial, financial, tax administration, tourism and agriculture sectors to encourage business.
“The government should introduce effective project monitoring and policy implementation mechanism through the budget,” CNI president Satish Kumar More said, adding that the private sector expects policies and programmes that will accelerate business growth and overall development. “But it is crucial to focus on implementation.”
The private sector has also urged the government to simplify tax rules and ensure businesses do not face the problem of double taxation. Seeking policy intervention to stabilise bank interest rate, they asked the finance minister to focus on addressing the problem of credit crunch in the market. “The government should boost development expenditure and improve credit flow in the banking sector.”

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