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{
    "id": 1031638,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1031638/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 60,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Uhuru Kenyatta",
    "speaker_title": "His Excellency the President",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 168,
        "legal_name": "Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta",
        "slug": "uhuru-kenyatta"
    },
    "content": "Hon. Speakers, the COVID-19 Pandemic began against the backdrop of a steady economic growth rate of 5.4 per cent in 2019. Our focus in implementing the Kenya Vision 2030 and its medium term plan dubbed the “Big Four Agenda” has been bearing fruit. As result, most of the major economic sectors evidenced impressive growth last year, including manufacturing, agriculture, tourism and financial services. However, when it became apparent that the COVID-19 Pandemic threatened to erode the significant economic gains we had made in 2019 and the preceding years, on 25th March, 2020, I, announced State interventions to cushion Kenyans against the adverse economic effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic that warranted the national exchequer to forgo taxes amounting to Kshs176 billion annually. Those tax measures included- (1) The temporary suspension of the listing with Credit Reference Bureaus (CRB) of any person, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMES) and corporate entities whose loan account had fallen overdue or was in arrears; (2) The immediate reduction of VAT from 16 per cent to 14 per cent; (3) Tax Relief of 100 per cent for all persons earning up to Kshs24,000; (4) Reduction of Pay as You Earn (PAYE) from 30 per cent to 25 per cent; (5) Reduction of Corporation Tax from 30 per cent to 25 per cent; (6) We also instructed that all Ministries were to pay approximately Kshs13 billion of verified pending bills, so as to improve liquidity in the economy and ensure that businesses remained afloat by enhancing their cash flows with the private sector also being encouraged to clear all outstanding payments owed within itself; (7) The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) was directed to expedite the payment of all verified VAT refunds claims amounting to Kshs10 billion within three weeks or, in the alternative, allow for the offsetting of Withholding VAT, in order to improve cash flows for businesses;"
}