Kathmandu, July 22: Kathmandu Metropolitan City collected more than Rs 12 billion in revenue in the last fiscal year, the highest in six years, driven largely by a sharp rise in rental tax collections.
According to the Metropolitan’s Revenue Department, total revenue reached Rs 12.04 billion in fiscal year 2025/26, up from Rs 10.64 billion in 2020/21.
Rental tax remained the city’s largest source of internal revenue. Collections rose from Rs 1.61 billion six years ago to Rs 3.95 billion last fiscal year, an increase of about 130 per cent.
Property tax collections also increased significantly, climbing from Rs 753.8 million to Rs 1.19 billion during the same period. Business tax nearly doubled to Rs 690.1 million, while revenue from recommendation fees rose from Rs 48.9 million to Rs 98.8 million.
Not all revenue sources showed growth. Building permit fees dropped sharply to Rs 393.1 million after peaking at Rs 1.01 billion in 2022/23, when the city conducted a building regularisation campaign. The decline also reflected slower construction activity.
Revenue from vehicle taxes shared by the provincial government also fell, dropping from Rs 431.8 million in 2022/23 to Rs 206.2 million last fiscal year.
Federal fiscal transfers remained largely stable. Equalisation grants stayed between Rs 700 million and Rs 800 million annually, while conditional current grants increased to Rs 1.67 billion.
The metropolitan had set an ambitious revenue target of Rs 15.11 billion for the last fiscal year but collected Rs 12.04 billion, achieving about 79 per cent of the goal.
Revenue Department Chief Deepak Adhikari credited the performance to coordinated efforts by elected representatives and municipal staff.
The city fell short of several tax targets. Against a rental tax target of Rs 6.25 billion, it collected Rs 3.95 billion, while property tax reached Rs 1.19 billion against a target of Rs 1.70 billion. Business tax collections totalled Rs 690.1 million against a target of Rs 1 billion, and building permit fees reached Rs 393.1 million, below the Rs 500 million target.
However, revenue from property registration fees exceeded expectations. The metropolitan collected Rs 2.09 billion against a target of Rs 1.64 billion, which officials attributed to increased real estate transactions.
The city also received Rs 648.6 million in federal equalisation grants against a target of Rs 799.5 million, while conditional current grants exceeded projections, reaching Rs 1.67 billion. No funds were received under the conditional capital grant programme despite a budget target of Rs 143.7 million.
People’s News Monitoring Service
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