Kathmandu, February 27
Finance Minister Yuba Raj Khatiwada says the government will not remove a recently introduced provision that requires book traders to pay 10 per cent for every book they import from any other country anytime soon. The minister claims the provision is introduced to promote the business of printers and publishers in Nepal, adding he is ready to justify the rationale of the decision.
Addressing journalists during the weekly press meet as the communications minister and government spokesperson, for the first time after he was given the new responsibility last week, said on Thursday that only the federal parliament could make corrections to the law now.
Of late, book publishers as we all intellectual youth have been putting pressure on the government to remove the provision, arguing it would limit their access to the books and hence knowledge. But, Khatiwada says the other countries also collected the book tax from five to 18 per cent.
He said, “Trading the books is not trading your knowledge. If you earn profits by selling books, you should also pay tax to the government.”
