Kathmandu: If Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) has its way, it will lock up Blue Bird Departmental Store at Thapathali any moment now.

It had decided to similarly lock up United Trade World Centre at Tripureshwor but could not do so after the Supreme Court restrained it. KMC is peeved at the fact that almost 60 percent of the large tax payers in the capital city are not paying their house and land taxes.

   Such large tax payers include government corporations, social clubs and private and individual firms.

KMC has launched a tax collection campaign recently and said it will further intensify the campaign after the upcoming Dashain festival. The capital city administration is trying to bring big business firms in the tax net and has aimed at collecting more than Rs 500 million in tax in the current fiscal year. 

According to officials at KMC, more than 60 percent of the large tax payers in Kathmandu have never paid their house and land tax liabilities at all..

Such firms include Royal Singhi Hotel, Shankar Hotel, Hotel Manasulu, Hotel Horizon, Tibeatan Hotel, Gopi Krishna Movies, Kathmandu Mall, RB Complex and St. Xaviers´ School, among others. Similarly, Nepal Electricity Authority, Rastriya Nachghar and Nepal Food Corporation (NFC) among others are among the defaulters.

"We have begun an intensive tax collection campaign targeting the 68 firms in first phase preparing their list as their tax liability equals more than 50 percent of the total tax collection," Ram Prashad Poudel, head of Revenue Department at KMC, said.

"These firms have so far neither submitted their tax description nor approached us to extend their deadline promising to clear their tax liabilities," he added.

The KMC office had decided to close United World Trade Center (UWTC) at Tripureshwor as it has never paid any house and land the tax since the beginning of its business a decade ago. However, the KMC action was stayed by an interim order from the Supreme Court (SC) not to close UWTC.

"Though we couldn´t close UWTC due to the SC decision, we are all set to lock up Blue Bird Departmental Store at any moment," said Poudel.

Gyanendra Karki, spokesperson of KMC, said that the firms which have not been paying property tax will face stern action within a couple of months.

"The unwillingness of larger tax payers to clear their tax liabilities has hindered development projects planned for the Kathmandu district," said Karki.

"If they don´t pay heed to our request this time, we will soon begin stern action against them," added Karki.

source: republica,26 September 2011