Kathmandu. The government is scheduled to present the budget for the coming fiscal year at 4:00 pm on Friday.

The government led by the RSP formed after the elections on March 4 after the Jenji agitation on September 7 and 24 is bringing the budget for the first time. Finance Minister Dr Swarnim Wagle will present the budget on behalf of the government led by the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP). Everyone is interested in what kind of budget this government will bring when the budget is ready.

At a time when the government is discussing to bring a budget of more than Rs 22 trillion for the coming fiscal year, there is a possibility of increasing the salary of the employees by at least 15 percent, increasing the scope of revenue, giving tax exemption to the technology and exporting industries, and increasing the ceiling of income tax according to the increase in the salary of the employees.

According to sources, there is a possibility of reducing the limit of income tax by 39 percent. Sources said that the government is likely to increase the short-term capital gains tax from the existing 7 percent and long-term 5 percent to 7.5 and 10 percent from the next fiscal year.

Similarly, the government has decided to levy some tax on fuel-run vehicles in the upcoming fiscal year. The government is expected to adopt a policy to increase electricity consumption. According to highly-placed sources, the government is likely to impose a green tax and carbon tax through the budget. During the budget formulation, Prime Minister Balendra Shah had asked for suggestions during the discussion with the lawmakers of all the provinces.

Amid confusion over whether the budget for the coming fiscal year was made in the Finance Ministry or the Prime Minister’s Office, the upcoming budget is likely to incorporate some good issues in the promises of the RSP as well as other parties.

It is hoped that the budget will be election-oriented as the upcoming budget will also cover the provincial and local level elections to some extent in 2084 BS. Former Finance Minister Bishnu Poudel, while giving suggestions to the government in the budget for the coming fiscal year, suggested that the government getting two-thirds majority would get good mandate in the local level elections.

Special pass not distributed, request to watch live from home

Spokesperson of the Federal Parliament, Ekram Giri, said that the special pass arrangement has not been made this time as the budget could not be presented in the newly constructed meeting hall of Siharbar.

“There was a possibility of giving a pass if the budget could be presented in the new building,” he said, adding, “This time the budget could not be presented in the new building due to technical reasons.” The pass was not distributed as the budget has to be presented in the hall where the parliament is currently sitting. “There is a shortage of space in the hall where the meeting is currently being held.

There is a shortage of space as the budget has to be presented in the joint sitting of both the parliaments. A total of 275 members of the House of Representatives and 59 members of the National Assembly participate in the meeting. The multipurpose hall of the new building has a seating capacity of 334 for lawmakers and 304 seats for spectators.

Spokesperson Giri said that the budget speech will be held in the old auditorium as the arrangement of sound system, microphone, audio, video and MCR has not been completed. Stating that the pass was not distributed due to lack of space, Giri has also requested everyone to watch the budget live from the House of Representatives’ YouTube at home.

Some people have come to listen to the budget speech without knowing or ignoring it, and they are preparing to be shown live on the ground floor of the multi-purpose building. In the previous years, the government used to give passes to representatives of the private sector, high-ranking officials, people close to ministers and leaders, members of the Secretariat of MPs during the budget speech.

Members of the House of Representatives and National Assembly have been asked to be present at 3:45 pm for the budget to be presented at 4:00 pm. After the promulgation of the Constitution of Nepal, 2072, the budget will be presented in the joint sitting of both the Houses of Parliament on May 29 every year. The budget is scheduled to be presented on May 29 coinciding with the Republic Day.