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PAC summons PM Dahal over Ncell tax controversy
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the Parliament has decided to summon Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal over the capital gains tax controversy surrounding the largest private telecom company, Ncell.Sanjeev Giri
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the Parliament has decided to summon Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal over the capital gains tax controversy surrounding the largest private telecom company, Ncell.
The committee on Thursday decided to call PM Dahal after finding Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Krishna Bahadur Mahara's reply on the issue unconvincing. The decision, however, hasn’t been formally minuted till the time this news was posted.
In a recent Cabinet meeting, PM Dahal had endorsed the proposal presented by DPM and Finance Minister Mahara that capital gains tax should levied on TeliaSonera, the seller of Ncell, instead of the current owner of the private telecom giant.
When asked about the issue Mahara said: “I have not taken any such proposal. Prime Minister himself enquired me about the capital gains tax issue. Likewise, I don’t have any information regarding such decision being made.”
Mahara’s statement raised eyebrows of PAC members. “This statement from Deputy Prime Minister is contradictory. And if it is true that the Prime Minister enquired Mahara about the tax issue, this is alarming,” said Nepali Congress lawmaker Ram Hari Khatiwada, urging the committee to summon Dahal for obtaining clarity on the matter.
Khatiwada’s proposal was supported by almost all the PAC members, apart from Maoist Centre leader Hari Bol Gajurel.
“This is a serious case. Hence we need to ask Prime Minister himself about what he and his government thinks regarding this capital gains tax issue,” said parliamentarian Bikas Lamsal.
Prominent UML leader Ananda Pokhrel questioned the Prime Minister for breaching the jurisdiction of Finance Minister. “How can Prime Minister make enquiries about a petty issue like tax?” Pokhrel said, adding that such tendency would pose a serious challenge to governance.
Before this, the PAC had set precedents by summoning the then Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala twice and Madhav Kumar Nepal once.
Video by Sanjeev Giri. Follow Giri @sanjeev1974ad