Kathmandu Metropolis shaming tax defauletr with music and dance

The Kathmandu Metropolitan City has launched an innovative campaign to recover tax dues from businesses and entities in the capital.

The metropolis officials today went around the capital city with all-women musician troupe playing traditional music like panche baja door-todoor , with a group of city police personnel blowing bullhorn to remind the defaulters to pay their taxes. They were wearing sashes with messages to pay tax on time.

They visited the offices of five tax defaulters — Kantipur Hotel at ward 1, Hotel Platinum at Soalteemode, WhiteField School, RB Complex, and Kesha Properties and Ranjana Trade Centre at New Road, today. The band reached the houses of people, who had not paid the tax and sang a song urging them to abide by the citizens' role to compulsory pay property tax on time. They also pasted tax notices at the offices warning them to pay the dues within a week or face legal action.

The metropolis is, however, criticised for only pressuring the small tax payers, and not pressing the big tax payers to pay tax.

The city office claimed that it will take action according to the Local Government Operation Act 2017 and other prevailing laws, if the defaulters did not clear the taxes by September 9.

The city office -- in July-end -- had announced to padlock the offices of 23 tax defaulters. Earlier, in June too, the City office had named some 23 businesses and entities as tax defaulters, including Chirayu Hospital, Kantipur Dental Hospital, Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, Shaheed Memorial Hospital, National Hospital, Manmohan Hospital, New Road Team, United Trade Centre, Buddhabai Complex, Bagmati Chamber, Kathmandu Engineering College, Nepal Tuberculosis Centre, Nepal Red Cross Society, Aadhar Complex, Agriculture Inputs Company Ltd, RB Complex, Suraj Arcade, Manmohan Memorial College, Shubhashree Cooperatives, Kathmandu Plaza, Nepal Share Market Complex, Gopalji Properties and Star Mall.

Later, on August 8, the City’s revenue department had named some 52 more tax defaulters giving them a month, until September first week, to clear the dues.

Of the total 75 tax-defaulters, some 10 have paid some of the tax dues. The City office collected a total of Rs 24.9 million from them, according to the revenue department of the City office. "Though, 75 businesses and entities owe around Rs 65 million in taxes."

The metropolis is encouraging locals to pay their property tax pending for the last three to 28 years. The Kathmandu metropolis charges 0.01 per cent of the government's evaluation of property, which is one of the lowest among other local governments inside the valley.