- The nominee said the main issue that led to the downfall of the Finance Bill were inadequate public participation and communication was not done effectively.
Image: EZEKIEL AMING'A
The rejection of the Finance Bill, 2024 should not be a cause for worry, Treasury Cabinet Secretary nominee John Mbadi has said.
He noted that the government still has options in terms of revenue collection that do not involve re-introducing the entire punitive document that the public rejected.
Mbadi said there were good provisions in the rejected Bill which he intends to bring as amendments to parent Bills, an indication of a possible Tax (Amendments) Bill, soon.
The nominee said the main issue that led to the downfall of the Finance Bill were inadequate public participation and communication was not done effectively.
“I believe there are good provisions that have been lost in the Finance Bill (2024) that are not contentious, and we can bring them as specific amendments with proper public participation. The problem we had was that the public felt they were not listened to,” he said.
Mbadi also pointed out that the Finance Bill typically contains only a few tax amendments, which he promised to address through dedicated statutes if appointed.
“We don’t have a lacuna. In fact, the Finance Bill is an omnivorous amendment Bill. We have about five or six that the Finance Bill usually amends. Among them are excise duty, import duty, value-added tax, income tax, and the Tax Procedures Act, and we have fees and levies. These are specific legislations that, if I’m approved, this house should help me ensure they touch these specific statutes. We don’t need to have a Finance Bill but I will seek specific guidance from the Attorney General,” he said.
In what could come a ray of hope to the Kenya Kwanza administration in its bid to raise its revenue, Mbadi disclosed that during the 10th and 11th Parliament, Finance Bill used to be passed in September.
"We used to have three months into the financial year to pass the Finance Bill,” he remarked.