KATHMANDU, July 21: Nepali Congress (NC) President Gagan Kumar Thapa has welcomed the government’s decision not to implement the 3 percent equity tax on private education and healthcare institutions, while urging it also to review what he described as unreasonable taxes, including VAT on electricity.
In a social media post, Thapa said his party had opposed the proposed equity tax from the outset, arguing that it would place an additional financial burden on citizens who rely on private schools and hospitals out of necessity rather than choice.
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“Not everyone who uses private schools and hospitals is wealthy. For many, it is not a luxury but a necessity,” Thapa wrote.
He said the private sector is an integral partner in Nepal’s education and healthcare systems and argued that imposing additional taxes or fees on essential services would not solve existing problems.
According to Thapa, the proposed equity tax would have widened inequality rather than promoted fairness. He welcomed the government’s decision to withdraw the measure and called for the necessary legal and administrative procedures to implement the decision without delay.
Thapa also urged the government to correct other “impractical taxes and policy shortcomings,” specifically citing VAT on electricity, and to be more responsive to the concerns of ordinary citizens.
