Mahabir Pun Demands Immediate Scrapping of Taxi Tax and 'Black Plate' System

Kathmandu. Independent Member of Parliament Mahabir Pun has demanded that the government immediately scrap the tax and 'black plate' system in the taxi business, alleging that there has been manipulation involved.

Speaking at Thursday's meeting of the House of Representatives, MP Pun stated that because taxi drivers belong to the working class, an unnecessary financial burden has been imposed on them. He mentioned that taxi drivers run their business to support their families, and claimed that the government has imposed a 250 to 300 percent tax on taxi purchases.

He said, "I want to raise an issue regarding taxi drivers. Those who drive taxis are workers. They have taken up the taxi business to support their families. What I found out while riding in a taxi is that the government has imposed a 250 to 300 percent tax to buy a single taxi."

According to MP Pun, apart from the tax incurred when purchasing a taxi, drivers are forced to spend around 1.5 million rupees just to acquire the 'black plate', which is the taxi license plate. "An additional tax imposed on taxi drivers is that to get the taxi's license plate, the black plate, it costs 1.5 million rupees, which is separate from the cost of the taxi itself. It costs 1.5 million to get the black plate. There is manipulation involved in this," he said.

He alleged that there is manipulation and a syndicate within this system, and urged the government to conduct a serious study on the matter. "There is manipulation and a syndicate involved in this. Therefore, after understanding this manipulation, it should be scrapped immediately," he said. MP Pun also stated that policy reforms are necessary to allow taxi drivers to operate their businesses in a smooth environment.