CPN MAOIST VICE-CHAIRMAN GAJUREL URGES END OF STALEMATE THROUGH ROUNDTABLE Kathmandu, 19 Aug.: Vice-chairman of the CPN-Maoist CP Gajurel has said that a way out of the present political stalemate should be found through a round-table conference of all political parties, RSS reports from Kirtipur.. Inaugurating the fourth national conference of All Nepal Teachers’ Organisation in Kirtipur today, Gajurel said a solution to the crisis should be sought through a round-table conference as Nepal was on the verge of becoming a failed state. He held the UCPN (Maoist), the Nepali Congress, CPN-UML and the Madhesi front responsible for the failure of the Constituent Assembly to promulgate a constitution. CPN-Maoist Secretary Netra Bikram Chand said the revolution that was initiated for the liberation of the Nepali people would continue until the ultimate goals were achieved. President of All Nepal National Teachers’ Organisation Gunaraj Lohani pointed out the need for a new kind of education movement in the country to rid the education sector of anomalies. The conference will be held for three days. Organisational representatives and observers from across the country are attending the meet. nnnn 100 SPECIAL PUJAS AT PASHUPATINATH TEMPLE EVERY DAY[ Kathmandu, 19Aug.: Around 100 special puja are daily performed in the Pashupatinath Temple making a handsome income for the religious shrine, The Himalayan Times reports. Although the demand for special puja is higher, the temple is keeping its requests to only 100 pujas, Pashupati Area Development Trust (PADT) informed. Hundreds of devotees visit the temple every day, while the number goes up to thousands on special occasions and festivals. “Despite higher demands for special puja, we are only able to take100 requests each day,” PADT treasurer Narottam Vaidya said. The devotees are not charged for worshipping at the temple, however, they have to pay a certain amount for special puja that the main priests of the shrine perform. According to the Pashupati Area Development Trust, the rate for special puja ranges from Rs 1,100 to Rs 1.1 million. The PADT has been maintaining the records of temple’s income and offerings since April 8 after the implementation of a regulation meant to make the temple earning transparent. Earlier, the priests and caretakers of the temple were alleged of gobbling up the offerings made at the temple. The annual income of the temple used to be Rs 2-4 million. “While only in the past five months, we have collected Rs 42.5 million, of which Rs 24.5 million was earned from regular offerings while remaining Rs 18 million from special puja,” he said. The funds collected from the offerings are deposited at the PADT bank account every day. According to Vaidya, the devotees have offered from Rs 1,100 to Rs 1.51 lakh for special worshipings since April 8. “Five Indian devotees offered the highest amount of Rs 1.51 lakh for special puja till August 16,” he said. Pashupatinath Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is a famous shrine. The pagoda-style temple is believed to be more than 2,000 years old. It was last renovated about 200 years ago and is in dire need of a facelift. Although PADT had planned to renovate the temple two years ago, the plan remains on paper due to fund crunch. Nnnn MORE FACILITIES FOR BIG TAXPAYERS Kathmandu, 19 Aug.: The government is planning to introduce a provision to provide special treatment to large taxpayers, according to the Finance Ministry, The Himalayan Times reports.. “The government is planning to provide extra facilities to large taxpayers to encourage the trend of self compliance,” said joint secretary at the ministry Shanta Raj Subedi in a programme organised by Inland Revenue Department (IRD), adding that the government will establish a separate arrival and departure lounge for the top 10 large taxpayers. The government is committed to providing respect and honour to taxpayers, he said. “But, taxpayers should cooperate with the government to mobilise revenue effectively.” There are several malpractices in the tax regime, he claimed. “Some firms and business houses which were registered under Value Added Tax (VAT) net about 10 to 12 years back have yet to clear their VAT credit,” he said. The Finance Ministry is committed to protecting taxpayers, said Subedi. “The ministry firmly stands for the non disclosure of names of firms and persons involved in VAT fraud,” he said. “The ministry did not reveal the names of firms involved in the VAT scam even in the then parliament based on a small provision of the Income Tax Act,” he said, which shows that the ministry is in favour of business people. The parliament had clearly said that the government should prosecute those involved in the VAT scam according to criminal laws, but it was the Finance Ministry which stopped the move, he revealed. However, Subedi claimed that tax evasion, avoidance and fraud are posing a serious threat to revenue mobilisation. “The investigation of 518 firms involved in VAT fraud by producing fake bills, similar cases of additional 495 firms, and mismatch in bills of 4,400 firms, clearly shows the perilous situation of revenue fraud,” he added. A total of 813,710 taxpayers are registered at tax administration, said deputy director general at IRD Madhu Marasini. Of the total, 113,622 taxpayers are under VAT net, 274,696 under Permanent Account Number net, and 539,014 taxpayers under income tax net, according to IRD. IRD’s annual business plan soon Inland Revenue Department (IRD) will soon bring its annual operational business plan that aims at reforming the tax regime, according to it. The annual business plan will try to address various issues in the five-year strategic plan and three-year reform plan being prepared by the department, said deputy director general of the department Madhu Marasini. nnnn MEDIA GOOGLE “The increment of 100 MW annual demand is likely to increase 2-3 hours in the power outage. Daily outage is expected to reach 16 to 18 hours from the last years 12 hours in the dry season, owing to below-normal rainfall at the only reservoir Kulekhani project. Load-shedding hours can be forecast only after the withdrawal of monsoon in September, according to NEA spokesperson Sher Singh Bhat.” (Report in The Himalayan Times, 19Aug.) nnnn.