 |
Kathmandu,Tuesday May 30, 2000 Jestha 17, 2057.
|
Don’t bleed the people
This year, the budget session of parliament began
early and budget estimates for the next financial year are being presented more than a
month earlier than in all previous years. May be we will also begin having our budget in
February within the next few years and this could be taken as a preparation for that
momentous occasion. We will then also begin our financial year from April rather than
mid-July as at present. It is not as if something spectacular is being accomplished by
presenting the budget more than a month earlier. We can understand the need for longer
time for in-depth discussions if members of parliament are allowed to rise above partisan
politics and discuss various proposals in the budget on the basis of their merit. Everyone
knows this is not going to happen. In addition, indications have been given that Finance
Minister Mahesh Acharya will be announcing new tax proposals to further bleed the already
bleeding public. The arguments are that funds are needed to raise salaries of government
employees and to meet "additional security expenses". Ministers, of course, will
not forego their facilities and bring about the much needed austerity in government
expenses to meet at least some of these outlays. They will continue to enjoy the perks and
trappings of office no matter what the cost to taxpayers. It is the first priority of any
government of a poor country like Nepal to ensure that austerity is practised in real
terms at all levels.
The budget in countries like ours is taken as an
effective instrument to mobilise domestic resources and to give a definite direction to
the nation’s economy. No government can run without taxes but taxes should be levied
in such a way that people are not only able to pay but willingly do so. In order for this
to happen, the government must instill a sense of confidence among the people that it
holds the welfare of the country and the people above all else. People must not see the
corrupt go unpunished, they must not see the law being flouted and bent everywhere, and
they would like to know what kind of taxes are being paid by whom including ministers and
parliament members.
Another area where expenses can be curtailed but
will not be is the "additional security expenses". It is futile to ask that a
new para-military corps not be raised as it will only prove to be a white elephant because
this provides justification for fresh taxes and additional expenditure, may be sometimes
even unaccounted for expenses. The Finance Minister will do the country a lot of good if
provisions for "contingency funds", especially in some ministries like the Home
Ministry, are done away with. In this age of transparency, these are "opaque"
funds that are largely unaccounted for. Today’s budget will be certainly welcomed if
it is able to bring financial reforms within the government itself.
Other Stories
|
