Tourism entrepreneurs urge Finance Minister to remove luxury tax

KATHMANDU, April 13:Organization related to tourism have urged Finance Minister Barshman Pun to eliminate the luxury tax. A memorandum was submitted  to Finance Minister Barshman Pun on Friday regarding the major issues to be addressed in the upcoming budget.

On behalf of organization related to tourism, the president of Hotel Association Nepal (HAN), Binayak Shah, stated that the current tourism sector in Nepal has developed the capacity to provide quality services to 3.5 million tourists, but the current tourism arrival only one-third of that capacity, the entire sector has been unable to increase its operating expenses.

He stated that in order to develop and expand this sector, the budget must be carefully reviewed, and adequate policies and plans for institutional building are required.

President Shah stated that the future budget should broaden the reach of the tax rate and eliminate the luxury tax on hotels.

Similarly, Ramesh Thapa, President of the Nepal Association of Tour & Travel Agents (NATTA), stated that the tax on air travel is not practical and urged the removal of the tax on air travel.

In addition to other issues raised in the memorandum, President Shah urged that the hotel and tourism business be recognized as a national priority industry, with enough service facilities.

Finance Minister Pun studied the genuine demands of tourism entrepreneurs and promised them that suitable steps would be made in this regard.

The Nepal Association of Rafting Agencies (NARA), President Shiva Adhikari, Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA), Senior Vice President Thakur Raj Pandey, NATTA, General Secretary Kumar Mani Thapaliya, Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) Member Rajendra Lama, and HAN Chief Operating Officer Tek Bahadur Mahat were also in attendance.