Share this
Twitter
Myspace
Digg
Del.icio.us
Slashdot
Furl
Yahoo
Googlize this
Blinklist
Facebook
Wikio
Export PDF
Print
E-mail
Politicians, as usual, have supported or criticised the budget based on whether they are in the government or in the opposition.
Leaders of the coalition leader CPN (UML) have supported the budget, while leaders of the main opposition the Unified CPN (Maoist) have strongly criticised it.
The budget is good, it has incorporated the fact that Nepal’s economy can thrive only with a coordinated effort of agro-sector, private sector and cooperatives, which is positive, said former finance minister and UML leader Bharat Mohan Adhikary.
Maoist leaders have not categorically commented on the specifications in the budget, but have flatly criticised it saying it is a budget presented by an unconstitutional government.
Former finance minister and Maoist leader Dr Babu Ram Bhattarai has said, this budget is direction less as is the government. There is nothing new in the budget. It is just a collage made from bits and pieces from the budgets of the previous years, he added.
Nepali Congress leader and former finance minister Dr Ram Sharan Mahat said, the budget is generally good, but whether it will be implemented properly or not is a big challenge. It is good that the budget has given continuity to some of the good programmes of the previous government and introduced some new ones, he added. However, the salary of civil servants should have been increased as per the recommendation of the pay commission, Mahat said.
RPP Nepal chairman Kamal Thapa accused the budget of lacking focus and being a populist one.
Former finance minister and co-chairman of Rastriya Janashakti Party Dr Prakash Chandra Lohani has criticised the budget for being too ambitious. It will be difficult to realize the goals of this budget, he said.
Economist Bishwambhar Pyakuryal also said the budget is too ambitious and it is impossible to meet the targets of economic growth as projected by the budget and reduce the inflation to 7 per cent in the present state of lawlessness.
The budget is bigger than what we suggested. We had said that the budget of Rs. 260 billion would be reasonable and it should not cross Rs. 270 billion. The government will have to face challenges in order to meet the targets. The source of income is not definite, Dr Pyakuryal said.
Former vice-chairman of National Planning Commission, Dr Shankar Sharma said the budget is generally positive. He said, this budget is not ambitious as of the previous year.
And it is positive that the finance minister and the PM would monitor the implementation of the budget.
However, there is challenge in implementation as many senior civil servants have retired under the voluntary retirement scheme and others are discouraged as their salary has not been hiked, Sharma said.
The business community is quite happy with the budget as there is no tax hike and there are incentives for employee-intensive industries.
Businessmen have welcomed the removal of scrap tax and local development tax, and the reduction of custom on some goods from 40 per cent to 30 per cent and the capital gain tax from 15 to 10 per cent.
Binod Chaudhary, president of Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI) and a CA member said, the removal of scrap tax is a positive step.
The government's decision to build roads and undertake hydropower projects is praiseworthy. However, it seems that the budget is marginalising the private sector's role. The budget lays stress on boosting private sector's confidence but plans are lacking to achieve this end, Chaudhary said.
Pradeep Jung Pandey, vice president of Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FNCCI) said, the budget has a number of good programmes like removing scrap tax, reduction of capital gain tax, commitment to end the syndicate system, the provision of e-tendering to help reduce the use of force in tendering process.
But the budget is mum on revitalising the industrial sector and does not spell a word on new industrial policy, Pandey added.
Rajendra Khetan, chairman of Khetan Group and a CA member said, the budget has tried to increase the role of the state, but it lacks focus. It is good that the budget did not increase tax rate on any thing except alcohol, Khetan said. The budget has announced incentives to employee intensive industries, which is good for us, he added.
However, civil servants are apparently disappointed with the budget as it failed to address their demand of a substantial salary hike. The budget did not increase the salary of the civil servants, but assured to give them some additional allowance as dearness allowance. nepalnews.com
View Comments