June 20: All seven provinces have already unveiled their budgets for the next fiscal year (FY 2022-23) beginning from mid-July, laying focus on reviving an ailing economy by increasing agricultural production and expanding the social safety net.    
Except for the Koshi provincial government which brought its annual budget through an ordinance, the rest of the six provinces have already presented the Finance Bill along with the Appropriation Bill in their respective Province Assembly.    
Koshi Province made some changes in its revenue policy through an ordinance.

Looking at the resource management of the provincial governments, resource collected from their own revenue sources is less while it is more dependent on fiscal transfers and revenue distribution from the federal government.    
Therefore, the provinces have emphasized on expanding both the tax rate and its coverage in order to increase the proportion of the internal revenue.    
The provinces have the rights over determining the vehicle tax, houses and land registration tax, tourism fees, advertisement tax, tax on agricultural income, service charges and fines and other surcharges. The provinces have been making their revenue policy every year incorporating these sectors.    
In their revenue policies, the provinces have given main priority to making the internal sources more effective by expanding the tax ambit for the economic activities falling under their exclusive rights. They have also focused on making the tax system convenient and technology-friendly, tax rate up-to-date by revising the tax structure and controlling tax evasion.    
Similarly, the provincial governments have included in their Finance Bill provisions such as exemption on registration and transfer of vehicles, discouraging the use of motor vehicles older than 20 years, making the land and house registration and transfer easier, providing some exemption on the registration and transfer of land used for production and exemption on the fine to commercial firms failing to renew registration for a long time.    
The combined budgets of the seven provinces for the next fiscal year amount to Rs 305.46 billion, which is nearly 17 percent higher than the current fiscal year’s budget. All provinces presented their budgets targeting economic recovery.    
Bagmati has the biggest financial outlay of all seven provinces while Karnali presented the smallest financing plan.    
Most of the provinces have set aside a big chunk of their budgets for infrastructure development. -- RSS