Former Nepal king to pay tax like commoners

A year and a half after he was dethroned, Nepal's former king Gyanendra will now have to pay tax for the first time, according to a government announcement.

Gyanendra who has become a commoner after being forced to step down in May last year after the Maoists abolished monarchy ending the 240-year old rule of the Shah Dynasty, will be made to pay tax under proposals cleared by the Nepalese Cabinet.

"The king will be subject to tax on property," minister for commerce and supplies Rajendra Mahato said after the cabinet took a decision to this effect.

Gyanendra and his family had to quit the famous Narayanhiti Palace in the heart of Kathmandu which has now been converted into a museum. The king now lives in his erstwhile hunting lodge atop a forested hill in the city outskirts.

Though the king and his family have left their sprawling palaces, they will now take another step closer to their former subjects by having to pay even his utility bills.

"The Cabinet has decided to bring the former king under the tax net and he will have to pay for all his utilities including water and electricity," Mahato said.

The government announced setting up of a committee to work out the procedure for imposing taxes on royal property. The royal dynasty earlier enjoyed a tax-free regime with even his payment for usage of water, electricity paid by the state. Gyanendra is believed to have extensive business interests.

Before being crowned in 2001, when his brother Birendra and his family were massacred inside the city palace by the crown prince, Gyanendra was a high-profile businessman with interests in the hotel and cigarette industry.

Recently, the king and his extended family were slapped with a notice for non-payment of electricity bills running into a million rupees. The former king had approached the authorities to ask for a discount.

The government officials said they had yet not made an assessment of the liabilities owned by the former monarch.

The cabinet also decided to allocate Rs2 crore fund as compensation for those killed and injured during the agitation launched by Madhesi people demanding more rights and representation.

It also formed a 13-member commission led by CPN-ML leader Gopal Mani Gautam to look into issues related to landless squatters for recommending lasting solution to the problem.