- July 30, 2022
- Posted by: Bastion team
- Category: World News
After 17 days of investigations, the parliamentary special committee has submitted its report to the House of Representatives giving a clean chit to former finance minister Janardan Sharma, who had allegedly allowed unauthorised persons to tweak taxes in the budget.
With the absolution from the parliamentary panel, questions are being raised whether former finance minister Sharma will return to the ministry.
“On the basis of discussions with office bearers of the Finance Ministry, responses and documents received from the ministry, study of the CCTV footage available and the facts found and evidence collected during the study, no unauthorised person was found to have been involved in tampering with tax rates,” the committee concludes, dismissing the allegations that tax rates were changed in the annual budget under unnecessary influence from business groups.
Panel chair Laxman Lal Karna presented the report at the second meeting of the House of Representatives on Friday.
The panel also noted that even if the special committee did nothing particular on the issue, regular parliamentary committees would continuously study the effects of the tax rates on the country’s economy.
However, four members of the panel representing the main opposition CPN-UML have presented their views differing from the panel’s report, stressing that circumstantial evidence suggested the entry of unauthorised persons as top Finance Ministry officials gave finishing touches to the annual budget on…