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    "id": 1077279,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1077279/?format=api",
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    "content": "provides information leading to recovery from maximum of Kshs2 million to Kshs5 million. This will encourage receipt of voluntary information to the Kenya Revenue Authority thereby bolstering tax compliance and revenue collections. Hon. Speaker, the Tax Appeals Tribunal has been hearing tax disputes and providing judgements at a very slow pace as the Tribunal sits on a part time basis. This has led to huge backlog of pending cases before the Tribunal. Currently, there are 549 pending cases with a revenue implication of Kshs107.4 billion. In order to strengthen the tribunal and allow members to expeditiously hear and conclude cases, I have proposed various amendments to the Act through the Tax Appeals Tribunal (Amendment) Bill, 2021 which I have submitted to this House for consideration. I urge the House to prioritise this Bill so as to facilitate faster disposal of tax appeals and boost revenue collection. The processing of applications under the EAC Duty Remission Scheme has been manual, time consuming and inefficient. In order to improve administration of the scheme, the Government automated the process, under the Single Window System, and successfully rolled out in September 2020. To strengthen the administration of tax exemption process for Official Aid Funded projects, we have embarked on automation of the application and approval under the Single Window System and target to roll out in the next financial year. In conclusion, I must state that the preparation of this Budget required a lot of balancing. It has not been an easy process considering the prevailing weak business environment. I am confident that the plans I have laid in this Budget will be realised to achieve the envisaged economic recovery that will lead to improvement of the welfare of Kenyans. It is worthy to note that our President has steered our economy through one of the most difficult periods occasioned by the COVID-19 Pandemic. His leadership and commitment to protection of lives and livelihoods through implementation of a host of measures have not only reduced the fatalities caused by COVID-19, but also supported economic activities. The Budget I have presented today has articulated additional measures that the Government plans to undertake to further boost economic recovery. In light of the challenges in mobilisation of additional revenue and rising expenditure demands, spending in the next year’s budget will focus on critical areas with the highest impact on the wellbeing of Kenyans. In this regard, I sincerely thank His Excellency, President Uhuru Kenyatta, for his wise counsel, unfailing support and guidance not only during the budget preparation process, but also in the stewardship of the economy. I also thank my fellow cabinet secretaries, the various accounting officers and staff for their contributions to the Financial Year 2021/2022 budget process. I also express deep gratitude to Kenyans for their insightful contributions, proposals and suggestions that helped us to finalise this Budget. In addition, my appreciation also goes to Honorable Speakers of the National Assembly and the Senate, the Majority and the Minority Leaders as well as other leadership of the two Houses and respective Clerks for overseeing the approval of the Budget Estimates for the Financial Year 2021/2022 and the related documents. Secondly, I want to appreciate the Honourable Members of the Budget and Appropriations Committee, the Departmental Committee on Finance and National Planning and all other departmental committees of this House as well as the staff of the Parliamentary Budget Office, for their constructive inputs during the approval process of the Budget. Thirdly, in a special way, I give tribute to my incredible, selfless team at the National Treasury and Planning who have worked tirelessly for very long hours to ensure that this Budget and supporting documents were prepared in time as per the legal requirements. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}