Kathmandu, June 25 :

Finance minister Dr Ram Sharan Mahat today stressed that the government and the private sector both have to work hard to replenish the national treasury and work for effective economic advancement by generating more resources.

Currently, the government treasury is almost empty which is troubling the finance minister as to how the budget for fiscal year 2006-07 would be made and meet increased expenses.

Dr Mahat said this while addressing an interaction programme held at the ministry of finance (MoF). During the function, Surendra Bir Malakar, president of Nepal Chamber of Commerce (NCC), presented budget suggestions to the finance minister for the coming fiscal year.

Dr Mahat reiterated that the government would expedite the economic reforms for which the private sector has to support well too. He also informed that the government would bring an investment-friendly budget incorporating suggestions from all sections of the society. Speaking at the suggestions giving function, Surendra Bir Malakar, president of Nepal Chamber of Commerce (NCC) expressed the views that the government has to expand development activities and allocate more budget.

The current revenue growth of 0.5 per cent is a very serious issue, Malakar observed.

He was of the view that resource mobilisation is a key challenge in which the private sector is ready to cooperate. Given such a context, the government has to create an environment to explore business and economic activities.

Presenting budget suggestions, Him Bahadur Rawal, chairman of Tax Committee of NCC, suggested the finance minister to make the tax administration more responsible and strong to collect more revenues. Rawal said that the government has to introduce a new law to ensure greater revenue generation. Similarly, a participatory tax model has to be developed to expand the tax net, he said.

Of the total eligible tax payers, only 33 per cent are under the tax net. Therefore, the government has to come out with a new mechanism to train government employees and private sector people to strengthen tax collection mechanisms, he suggested.

The total number of taxpayers currently stand at 1,96,000 and to increase this number a strong mechanism has to be created, Rawal demanded.

Businesspersons also suggested the government to carry out a thorough study on taxpayer services and tax administration so that more taxpayers can be brought under the tax net.

Among other suggestions submitted by NCC for the 2006-07 budget are formulation of new commercial and industrial policy, relaxing state monopolies on some goods, formulation of competition law, giving facilities to export trading houses, implement anti-dumping act to protect domestic industries and boost domestic use of industrial goods to boost national economy.