25 Jestha, Kathmandu – Hark Sampang, chairman of the Labor Culture Party, has called for the resignation of Finance Minister Dr. Swarnim Wagle. On social media, he wrote, “Finance Minister Wagle has been accused of altering tax rates and leaking tax rates. This issue was even raised during Monday’s meeting of the House of Representatives.”
During Monday’s session of the House of Representatives, parliamentary party leader of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party, Gyanendra Shahi, stated that the leak regarding changes in tax rates is not a trivial matter and that a parliamentary investigation is necessary.
“An investigation into the country’s finance minister should not be conducted by the Finance Ministry, but by a parliamentary investigation committee. Conduct that investigation. How did the information about tax rate changes get leaked today? Is this a normal matter? This is something customs officials should know,” questioned Shahi.
Padma Aryal, deputy leader of the parliamentary party of the CPN-UML, also raised the issue. Aryal stated, “Page 16 of the Economic Bill has gone missing. The tax rates have been altered.”
Gopal Sharma, a member of parliament from the Nepal Communist Party, called the letter submitted by Finance Minister Dr. Swarnim Wagle to the federal parliament secretariat, which altered tax rates in the Economic Bill, unacceptable.
He made these comments after noting discrepancies between the Economic Bill tabled in parliament and the version uploaded on the Ministry of Finance’s website.
The government has faced criticism since it removed 16 pages from the Economic Bill already registered in parliament and reintroduced a new version through the Ministry of Finance.
Finance Minister Dr. Swarnim Wagle had introduced the Economic Bill on Jestha 15 (June 28).
The original bill contained 464 pages, but after alterations, the Ministry of Finance’s website version contains only 448 pages.
The Ministry of Finance publicly released the bill after removing 16 pages.
Differences in tax-related provisions have been observed between the Economic Bill presented in parliament and the version currently on the Ministry of Finance’s website.
According to parliamentary experts, legal approval from the parliament is necessary to amend a bill already tabled. Corrections to an Economic Bill already registered in parliament must first be initiated and approved by parliament. It is not legally permissible for the Ministry of Finance to make changes unilaterally on a bill already submitted to parliament.
Against this backdrop, Hark Sampang, chairman of the Labor Culture Party, has demanded the resignation of Finance Minister Dr. Swarnim Wagle.
