5 June 2015 4:28 PM AEST: Nepal has been criticised for ‘cashing in’ on the misery of its own people to make profits out of the donations sent by kind-hearted communities from across the world.

The Government of Nepal currently levies 15 to 30 % ‘income tax’ on the humanitarian aid reaching its borders. According to Daily Mail, the authorities argue the tax is in place to help it coordinate the relief efforts.

A report published today said a church warehouse at Catterick Garrision in the UK has ‘ten tons of everyday items’ that could not be sent to Nepal because of the 30% tax on donations because it is ‘too expensive to hand them over’ due to the relief tax.

Many international organisations want pressure created on the Government in Nepal to drop the tax so that aid could flow smoothly to the hundreds of thousands of survivors of the April 25 earthquake which was followed by a powerful aftershock on May 12. Nearly 9000 people have lost their lives due to the disaster.

It appears even the Nepalese diaspora in the UK is grossly dissatisfied with the tax. Dr Jagannath Sharma, executive member of the British Ghurkha and Nepalese Community, told the newspaper that he was ‘devastated’ that the aid was not reaching Nepal. He said the international community should put pressure on the Nepalese government so that the aid can be delivered to the needy earthquake survivors.

It has also been revealed that the Nepalese community at the garrison collected some £ 20,000 but refuses to hand it over to the Nepalese government for fear of the money not reaching the earthquake victims.

Nepal currently stands in urgent need of all the aid the world can offer. UN continues to lament that tens of thousands of people, specially those living in the difficult-to-access areas, are still without temporary shelters and the daily necessities of life. Various UN agencies including the WFP and UNICEF have expressed fear in recent weeks that the approaching monsoons are only going to multiply the miseries of the shelter-less earthquake victims of the Himalayan nation.

“A Nepalese Embassy spokesman said the relief taxes of between 15 and 30 per cent, depending on the type of good, had been introduced as its government felt it was in the best position to coordinate the humanitarian effort and prevent aid being duplicated,” Daily Mail said in the report.

Comments by readers of the article voice out a clear frustration about the way the Nepalese authorities are handling the issue. One commenter said, “Taxing people’s misery? Shame on the Nepali government and their blood money” while one termed the tax ‘obscene’.

Another commenter said, “Sad. There is a world wide appeal for help, but they want to make money from any help given, so be sure to check out who you send aid to. The politicians always find some way to benefit from any aid given to their countries.”

“We should not be wasting our charity on a government that will take 30%. Divert it to somewhere else that needs it,” Sancus from Atlantis said.

http://www.southasia.com.au/?p=2150