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{
    "id": 1079457,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1079457/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 155,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Nandi Hills, JP",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Alfred Keter",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 2514,
        "legal_name": "Alfred Kiptoo Keter",
        "slug": "alfred-kiptoo-keter"
    },
    "content": " It is very interesting. At the outset, I would like to support the Bill, of course, with amendments by the Committee. I appreciate the work done by the Committee, especially under the leadership of Hon. Gladys Wanga. I have noticed the input from public participation which is a constitutional provision and the spirit of the law is to guide and have representation because as Members of Parliament, we represent the people. The contributions from the public should be respected as per the Constitution. Most of the proposed amendments were made after the input from public participation. The Bill initially had a proposal to delete the requirement for Regulations under the VAT Act, 2013 which was to exempt the National Assembly from approval before gazettement of VAT Regulations. I support it because unless this House intervenes and oversees the Executive, we will not have a tax regime that will favour the people we represent. On the Digital Service Tax, this Bill introduces the implementation of that market place where a lot of transactions are done online and some are done electronically. We are losing a lot of resources which we would have opportunity to tax. I said earlier in this Parliament that it is important to have the two committees, namely, the Departmental Committee on Finance and National Planning and the Budget and Appropriations Committee working together because there is an inherent relationship between the two. You cannot budget what you do not have or tax without a plan. So, you must tax with a plan and you cannot plan without taxing it. That is important. I remember in the 11th Parliament, we used to have Members of the Departmental Committee on Finance and National Planning sitting in the Budget and Appropriations Committee, so that when you want to budget, most proposals that you make will be in tandem with the taxation regime that you introduced. That is not the case here. I have also realised that sometimes we do a budget, then again, discuss where to get the resources. It should be the other way round. We should get the resources and then budget. We end up getting a deficit in every budget. Unless we plan properly in terms of where to get the resources available, we cannot understand how to prioritise programmes. In as much as I am supporting the Bill, it is important for this Parliament to see how in future we can introduce a system where a majority of Members who sit in the Budget and Appropriations Committee also sit in the Departmental Committee on Finance and National Planning, so that when they make proposals to tax, they should be doing that while putting in mind where to put resources in budgeting. The Bill proposes to amend the Excise Duty Act No.23 of 2015 because it is very inappropriate. For instance, the Excise Duty on motorcycles at Kshs11,000 per unit is too much for the boda boda people. There is a proposal to levy a non-fixed Excise Duty which is 15 per cent of the value of each unit. The import of that is to support this sector which is run by ordinary Kenyans who are languishing in poverty and are trying to earn a living. They do many things to get resources to buy the motorcycles which cost about Kshs100,000 each. If you were to have an Excise Duty of Kshs11,000 per unit, it will be too much for them. It is a good introductory to resolve that. Generally, this Bill is good. I have seen many things, but I want to be brief. There is even the introduction of the infrastructure bond which we raised in the Budget and Appropriations 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."
}