Rajbiraj, February 14:

Only two per cent of the people in Rajbiraj municipality area pay house and land tax, according to the revenue section of the municipality. There are around 4,000 houses in the municipality, of which only 2,402 are registered and only 200 house owners pay tax annually.

Last year, the municipality collected only Rs 223,000 in house tax. The previous year, it was, however, unexpectedly high (Rs 2.3 million).

Revenue section chief Balaram Chaudhary said most people pay tax only when it’s mandatory during official work like selling land/house and taking loan. Chaudhary said except Rastriya Banijya Bank, Nepal Telecom, Nepal Bank Ltd and Agriculture Development Bank, no government office, school or institution is paying house tax.

Political leaders, including former mayors of the municipality, are also not paying house tax. He said it would be easier for the municipality to collect tax if buildings were numbered.