We already paid for a better Nepal. Now we rise to claim it.
Our Mission:
They kept our taxes in the dark so they could keep power.
We’re turning on the lights
This time, our anger has a direction. Nepal’s citizens, empowered by a new generation, are done pleading for the bare minimum.We are taxpayers. We are stakeholders. And together, we are building a Nepal where power answers to the people. We rise together and we will not be ignored.
How did we get here?
Lets take a minute to understand the problem.
Across Nepal, we are taxed constantly. Every phone recharge, every taxi ride, every bag of rice. Yet because these payments are tucked into the price of everyday essentials, few of us ever see the true amount we contribute. And when we can’t see what we’ve paid, we forget what we’re owed.
That invisibility is not a flaw in the system- it is there by design.
Only 4.7% of Nepalis pay income tax directly. The vast majority of government revenue comes from indirect taxes that are collected quietly and continuously from ordinary people.
So, why would governments choose a system no one can see?
Research shows the answer is simple:
Invisible taxes lead to invisible demands.
Over time, frustration turns into resignation. Neglect becomes normal. Citizens start approaching officials like they’re asking for favors — even though it’s our money funding those offices. And corruption thrives in the silence that hidden taxes create.
That ends now.
The Four Problems we face :
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Hidden indirect taxes drain our income every day, but because we can’t see them, we’re made to feel like we haven’t paid for anything at all.
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When a road crumbles or water stops flowing, citizens don’t know who to confront , responsibility is scattered and unclear by design.
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Every neighborhood deals with broken services : potholes, leaks, absentee teachers, but without tools to unite, frustration remains isolated and easily ignored.
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Governments rely on hidden taxes because invisibility dulls outrage, slowly convincing people that expecting better is pointless.
What can we do?
We have leveraged the principles of behavioural science to design a multi-pronged solution that can begin to undo the damage they have done.
Loss aversion, the insight behind Daniel Kahneman’s Nobel Prize, shows that people fight hardest for what they feel they already own. When citizens see the taxes they’ve paid, those funds feel personal. And losing what we’ve invested in becomes unacceptable.
Which means, when taxes are visible, people demand accountability, but when they’re hidden, accountability collapses. Governments strategically rely on indirect taxes because they weaken citizen pressure.
Change begins with visibility:
→ seeing what we’ve paid
→ seeing who owes us services
→ seeing where our money is going
→ seeing how it is being used
Our Solution:
The Accountability System
A multi-pronged approach to reclaim our voice
Complex problems require nuanced solutions. We are making the necessary information acessible, and our taxes visible in a variety of different ways. Together, these interventions will help rebuild the broken citizen-government accountability loop.
Research
Everything we do is evidence based. There is very little data available about what citizens know, think and want. So we have taken it upon ourselves to find out. Our team has designed surveys that we have circulated far and wide. the findings have been invaluable in helping us understand the best way to move forward.
Education
Knowledge is power, and it is also the best defense against misinformation. We have collaborated with the Ministry of Education, Private School Organization (PABSON), as well as 15 private uniersities across the country to design and deliver a comprehensive 3 day civic education workshop. This curriculum has been designed with the help of lawyers, policy makers and educators to ensure that we are delivering the most accurate, helpful and relevant information possible to students.
Online Platform
The broken citizen- government accountability loop needs to be rebuilt and maintained sustainably. We will leverage technology to accomplish this mission. Citizens deserve to know exactly what they are paying and to whom, and tax contributions must not be hidden or disguised any longer.