Lawmakers Clash Over Budget Errors and Tax Rates in Public Accounts Committee Meeting

Kathmandu. In the meeting of the Public Accounts Committee, lawmaker Khagendra Sunar's views regarding alleged errors in budget formulation and changes in tax rates were countered by lawmaker Khusbu Oli. Speaking at the meeting, lawmaker Khagendra Sunar argued that the tendency to always blame the minister or leadership for minor weaknesses in the bureaucracy is wrong. He said, 'Just as the person in the driver's seat is discussed so much, the driver should not have to bear the burden of the mischief done by the passengers in the back seat.' He stated that minor linguistic or technical errors in the budget, citing examples like the BYD brand and Finance Minister Dr. Swarnim Wagle, should not be made into major crimes. He mentioned that the ministry has already accepted the small mistakes. Sunar said, 'We should not want to perform surgery for a common cold. If it is the mischief of employees, let's investigate, but constantly putting the minister on the stand does not benefit the country's economy.' Countering Sunar's argument, lawmaker Khusbu Oli stated that the work of parliamentary committees is to ask questions and ensure accountability. 'If we are not to ask questions and debate, then what is the purpose of a parliamentary committee?' she questioned. Refuting the argument of linguistic error in defense of the Finance Minister, Oli said, 'This is not a matter of a comma or a full stop error. When the tax rate changes by just 1 percent, the state's revenue differs by billions of rupees. This is a game of numbers, not of tone of language. It is not a normal thing for rates to be changed in such an invisible way in a bill that has already been tabled.' Clarifying further, she said, 'We have not accused any individual; this is a matter of a system and a tendency. For the sake of improving the image of the Finance Ministry and Customs, a collective and transparent investigation must be conducted in this case. We are not questioning the minister's integrity, but seeking transparency in the system.'