Finance and Planning Committee chairperson Kimani Kuria on Wednesday defended the controversial Finance Bill, 2023 as MPs started a debate on the proposed revenue law.
The Molo MP, while moving the committee report on the Finance Bill, 2023, affirmed that the committee accommodated the views of Kenyans during the public participation process.
"The committee carried out the most extensive public participation in the history of parliament," he said while moving the report.
"Our committee members sat between 10 and 12 hours a day listening to members of the public and views of Kenyans."
The MP said the secretariat staff sat for long hours to review the over 1,000 memoranda that were sent to us by email and took time to respond to each of them individually.
He said that unlike in the public participation for the budget 2023/24 when Kenyans made robust requests on their development priorities, the presentations in the Finance committee were different.
"All Kenyans came with smiling faces, saying that we want that road completed, we want water connections in our homes and we want electricity connection in our homes," he said.
"The experience may not have been the same on how that budget they really wanted implemented would be financed."
The MP claimed that the bill faced a lot of misinformation and political assassination by a section of people who opposed a good number of proposals.
He termed the proposed compensation of insurance services as one of the areas that were highly misreported.
"I heard members of the public say that if I lose my leg and I get compensated then I will pay 16 per cent of that compensation," he said.
"I also heard even members say that if I lose my car and I am compensated, I will pay VAT."
Kuria said the tax only applies to taxable supply which does not include compensation for amputation or compensation of lost household items.
He said where companies hold goods that are vatable, paid input tax on the items and get compensated including the VAT refund then they would have benefitted twice if the bill is not passed.
"The double VAT refund is what this bill was trying to cure," he said.
