Kathmandu : The Good Governance Roadmap, 2082 has presented a structural reform of budget and revenue system. It has underscored issues ranging from fiscal transfer to capital market and their transparency. Long-term policy stability is sought by the document.
The roadmap made public by the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers said the tax system needs to be just, progressive and transparent while the budget system accountable and result-oriented.
The tax would be imposed based on income and capability. Progressive tax is needed. Low-income groups should be protected. There should be clear information on how the revenue is generated and where it is used.
Tax administration would be made digital and hassle-free. “From tax submission to filing and payment, tax payers must not be forced to stand in line. Tax rate and policy should be stable,” the roadmap mentioned, adding that fair and equal implementation of tax would be practiced.
Bribery and collusion must be ended to curb corruption. The internal control and digital tracking would be bolstered, the government stated in the document.
Service-oriented tax administration is proposed by the government so that tax payers’ complaints would fizzle out. Taxpayers should be free of unfair fine, it added.
Dual taxation due to a lack of coordination among the federal, province and local levels should be ended by clearly demarcating the rights. “Information on budget making, its allocation and expenditure should be made public. There should be massive investments in the primary sectors like education, health care, employment and infrastructure development. Budget should be free from the seizure of handful of people or influential ones,” the roadmap document states.
Similarly, the document has laid emphasis on making budget expenditure more result-oriented. The budget should be prepared by incorporating the citizens’ feedback, not from the pocket of ministers or high-level individuals, according to the roadmap.
It mentioned that the intergovernmental transfers should be transformed as a strategic tool to reduce inequalities not merely a resource distribution measure. “The system of e-registration, e-filing, e-payment and e-invoicing should be fully implemented. Tax evasion should be controlled by the use of artificial intelligence,” it said.
The roadmap further stated that the direct ties of taxpayers and officials should be reduced through the application of faceless audit in tax administration. Likewise, the roadmap mentioned that restructuring and business management was needed for the public enterprises having low returns.
For the reforms in the customs administration, there should be fully digital, paperless and faceless system in practice, it suggested.
