It was shoddy! DP to challenge public participation exercise
Gachagua says the exercise was not conducted within the law.
1mon agoPERPETUA ETYANGRealtime
Parliament will from today collect views from Kenyans on the proposed tax laws as the government seeks to raise additional revenue following the rejected Finance Bill 2024.
Kenyans will give their views on the less controversial tax measures Treasury believes should be considered to help President William Ruto’s administration deliver on its promises.
National Assembly’s Finance Committee will visit six counties in the next two days to collect views on the four bills before making a report to the House.
The bills are Tax Laws (Amendment) Bill 2024, Tax Procedures (Amendment) Bill 2024, Public Finance Management (Amendment) (No.4 ) Bill 2024 and Public Finance Management (Amendment) (No4 ) Bill 2024. Before drafting the bill, National Treasury had done public participation, where Kenyans were given a chance to raise concerns.
The committee will lead a public participation in Isiolo and Bungoma counties to get views of the public on the proposals.
“During these public hearings, the committee shall hold discussions and receive views and representation on the bills from members of the public,” a communication from Parliament reads.
“The hearings are open to all citizens and will start at 10am.”
In Isiolo, the committee chaired by Molo MP Kimani Kuria will pitch camp at Bishop Menza Pastoral Centre hall, while the team will use Kenya Red Cross hall in Bungoma to hear from Kenyans on the proposed bills.
On Tuesday, the Kimani-led team will visit Mombasa (Tononoka hall) and Siaya (IEBC hall).
The exercise will end on Wednesday at Taita Taveta (Mwatate CDF hall) and Kericho (ACK Church) to explain the reason behind the new push.
Treasury argues the additional tax measures are necessary to ensure among otherS the smooth funding of counties and public debt management.
The bills are, however, facing opposition from Azimio leaders, led by Wiper boss Kalonzo Musyoka, who has warned that the proposal is a recipe for chaos in the country.
National Assembly Minority Leader Robert Mbui said they will resist any attempts to bring back the draconian measures, insisting Kenyans will not hesitate to return to the streets to express their disapproval.
“This is the calm before the storm. We know there is an intention in Parliament to bring through the backdoor some of these draconian tax laws in Parliament,” he said In the Tax Laws (Amendment) Bill 2024, Treasury is seeking to redefine the digital marketplace with a proposed tax of 15 per cent on tech giants.
By targeting the technology giants, Treasury seeks to expand the tax base to cover all digital or online businesses. The amendment also seeks to provide more tax relief for employee benefits, which are currently subjected to income tax.
The Tax Procedures (Amendment) Bill 2024 seeks to extend the tax amnesty period to June 2025 and allow taxpayers to offset overpayments or refunds due against tax obligations.
The Public Finance Management (Amendment) (No.4 ) Bill 2024 will make it possible to finance counties in the event that the Division of Revenue Bill and the County Allocation of Revenue Bill are not enacted by June 30 as required.
The changes are meant to cure
a situation like the current case,
where there is a stalemate on the
Division of Revenue Bill.
