Kathmandu. Finance Minister Dr. Swarnim Wagle has said that it is unrealistic to expect a budget to solve the problems that have been pending in the country for decades.
Speaking at a policy dialogue program related to the budget for the fiscal year 2083/84 held in Kathmandu on Monday, he said that the budget is about 70 percent of the budget will be fixed when the government will raise resources from and where it spends. Therefore, it is wrong to think that the budget will come and everything will be solved.
“The budget has been brought amidst the pressure of resources, time and expectation. There has also been a bit of exaggeration in terms of the budget. It is also a bit impractical to expect that a budget will solve the problems that have been pending in the country for decades. Perhaps we are also nurturing the same topic. The budget does not mean that everything will be solved. About 70 percent of the government is already decided on where it will raise resources and where it spends. ’
Similarly, Minister Wagle said that such efforts have been made this year at a time when the tax scope and structures have not been implemented at once for the past three decades.
However, he admitted that due to the pressure of time, he could not work with more maturity. He said that the government is trying to fulfill the pre-election commitment to reduce the overall tax burden.
“For three decades, we have not run such a large tax net structure at once. This year, there have been attempts. Yet, the pressure of time may have allowed the work to be done with greater maturity. Before the election, we had said in the manifesto that we would reduce the overall tax burden. We have done it in order to do justice to that promise. ’
Reiterating the view that the budget alone would not solve everything, he said that the private sector would grow the economy on the foundation of the seeds sown by the budget and some strategic investments.
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