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BRB: Govt committed treason by exempting Ncell capital tax
Former prime minister and Naya Shakti Nepal coordinator Baburam Bhattarai has accused the government of committing treason by deciding to give mobile network operator Ncell a clean chit in the capital gains tax issue.Former prime minister and Naya Shakti Nepal coordinator Baburam Bhattarai has accused the government of committing treason by deciding to give mobile network operator Ncell a clean chit in the capital gains tax issue.
Despite objections from some ministers, the Cabinet on Wednesday endorsed the proposal presented by Deputy PM and Finance Minister Krishna Bahadur Mahara that capital gains tax should be levied on TeliaSonera, the seller of Ncell, instead of the current owner of the private telecom giant. In a statement on Sunday, Bhattarai said the government orchestrated a ploy to waive the capital gains tax by breaching the established rules and standard.
He criticised the government for making a Cabinet level decision on the issue by stripping the right of a section officer on the matter.
“It is not only corruption but treason to support Ncell in evading tax during its sale,” he said, calling it a systemic crime to grant tax amnesty to a company that reaps billions of rupees in profit. According to the facts made public, the government will lose Rs33 billion in revenue if Ncell is pardoned on the matter. In a record deal, Axiata bought Reynolds Holding, which held a majority stake in Ncell, from the TeliaSonera for $1.03 billion.