Capital city announces budget of Rs. 19 billion

Kathmandu, June 24

Kathmandu Metropolitan City has presented the budget of Rs. 18.95 billion for the coming Fiscal Year 2021/22. It is larger by Rs. 2.53 billion than the budget of current FY’s Rs. 16.42 billion.

Deputy Mayor Hari Prabha Khadgi presented the estimates of income and expenditure for the next fiscal that intends to spend Rs. 3.75 billion in administrative operations, Rs. 10.8 billion in infrastructure development and Rs. 2.7 billion in social development.

Likewise, Rs. 1.15 billion is allocated for good governance and cross-cutting areas and Rs. 550 million for economic development.

The capital city aims to mobilise Rs. 4.34 billion from internal sources and Rs. 2.58 billion from revenue sharing of provincial and federal government. Other sources of income are Rs. 1.32 billion conditional grant from the federal government and Rs. 839 million unconditional grant from the provincial and central government while Rs. 7 billion would be mobilised from the existing bank savings.

Likewise, Rs. 1.5 billion would be available from the social security allowance and Rs. 1.37 from other external sources.

The KMC has proposed to expand the tax net while offering discounts in revenue. Considering the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economic and business activities, all fines on tax dues are waved off.

Shakya said that the metropolis was not for increasing the rates of the taxes. He announced up to 90 per cent discount in property tax. The largest of it - about 80 per cent - is offered to the tourism sector businesses while additional 10 per cent discount would be provided to those who pay the tax by mid-January 2021.

Likewise, Rs. 25,000 or 10 per cent discount is announced in rental tax. Businesses with toilet facilities for the common people will be entitled for 50 per cent discount in business tax.

Meanwhile, Lalitpur Metropolitan City (LMC) could not present its budget due to political dispute. The metro was supposed to present its budget at the sixth meeting of its 135-member municipal assembly scheduled for 11 am Thursday.

However, 92 assembly members belonging to the CPN (UML) and CPN (Maoist Centre) boycotted the meeting, claiming that they had not been given enough time to discuss the city’s policies and programmes beforehand. They accused Mayor Chiri Babu Maharjan, who along with Deputy Mayor Gita Satyal, was elected from the Nepali Congress, of trying to force the budget on them.

However, LMC did present the total size of its budget for the fiscal year 2021/22 at Rs. 5.55 billion.

 Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 25 June 2021.