Govt plans to honour large taxpayers

KATHMANDU, AUG 19: 

The government is planning to introduce a provision to provide special treatment to large taxpayers, according to the Finance Ministry. 

“The government is planning to provide extra facilities to large taxpayers to encourage the trend of self compliance,” said joint secretary at the ministry Shanta Raj Subedi in a programme organised by Inland Revenue Department (IRD), adding that the government will establish a separate arrival and departure lounge for the top 10 large taxpayers. 

The government is committed to providing respect and honour to taxpayers, he said. “But, taxpayers should cooperate with the government to mobilise revenue effectively.”

There are several malpractices in the tax regime, he claimed. “Some firms and business houses which were registered under Value Added Tax (VAT) net about 10 to 12 years back have yet to clear their VAT credit,” he said.

The Finance Ministry is committed to protecting taxpayers, said Subedi. “The ministry firmly stands for the non disclosure of names of firms and persons involved in VAT fraud,” he said. 

“The ministry did not reveal the names of firms involved in the VAT scam even in the then parliament based on a small provision of the Income Tax Act,” he said, which shows that the ministry is in favour of business people. 

The parliament had clearly said that the government should prosecute those involved in the VAT scam according to criminal laws, but it was the Finance Ministry which stopped the move, he revealed. 

However, Subedi claimed that tax evasion, avoidance and fraud are posing a serious threat to revenue mobilisation. “The investigation of 518 firms involved in VAT fraud by producing fake bills, similar cases of additional 495 firms, and mismatch in bills of 4,400 firms, clearly shows the perilous situation of revenue fraud,” he added. 

A total of 813,710 taxpayers are registered at tax administration, said deputy director general at IRD Madhu Marasini. Of the total, 113,622 taxpayers are under VAT net, 274,696 under Permanent Account Number net, and 539,014 taxpayers under income tax net, according to IRD.

IRD’s annual business plan soon

Inland Revenue Department (IRD) will soon bring its annual operational business plan that aims at reforming the tax regime, according to it. The annual business plan will try to address various issues in the five-year strategic plan and three-year reform plan being prepared by the department, said deputy director general of the department Madhu Marasini.

Source: The Kathmandu Post