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{
    "id": 1079796,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1079796/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 254,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Kitui Central, WDM-K",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Makali Mulu",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1955,
        "legal_name": "Benson Makali Mulu",
        "slug": "benson-makali-mulu"
    },
    "content": "proposal, but it is being made only because we are not honest as a community. You remember at one point when Kibaki was the President of this country, he came up with the clarion call of ‘ kulipaushuru ni kujitegemea ’. But what he did, and that was the secret, is that he made sure that any money collected was used for the benefit of Kenyans. Application of the tax collected was very efficient and effective. So, even as talk about giving informants more money, it is a temporary solution. The long-term solution is to let everyone be convinced that they get value for their taxes. When you go to other countries, people are being taxes even up to 70 per cent and they never complain. Here we tax up to 30 per cent. Do you know why those people do not complain? You are taxed 70 per cent, but you access all services and goods almost free of charge. The Government takes care of your medical and education bills and other basics. So, you only need a small amount of money to take care of your luxuries. So, if we apply tax well, there will be no need to induce anybody to be an informant to give information. I will pay my tax because I know I will get value for it. Here is a situation where we are being taxed so that teachers can be employed, but you have to employ board of management (BOM) teachers at your local primary or secondary school. So, why should I pay tax and at the end of the day I am asked to employ three BOM teachers in a school, because the school has no teachers? What we are saying is that we can pay more tax, but let the tax serve Kenyans. The other important matter is betting. It is not good. That is a fact. So, as a House, we should not shy away from taxing betting activities. Hon. Wanga, I would propose you increase the tax to 50 per cent from 30 per cent. These are guys who never feel the taxation. By taxing them more, you can afford to levy no tax on gas cylinders, bread and motorcycles. On a serious note, in today’s Kenya, how do you even think of increasing tax on motorcycles? This is a shame. The fact that we are making this budget in abnormal times does not mean that we lose our minds. Bodabodas run this country. If you play around with that sector, I do not know what will happen, but I can tell you it will not be good. Let us encourage the young men to remain there either by maintaining the current tax or lowering it. Unemployment is a real issue in this country. If we start playing with that sector, it is a time bomb. As I conclude, there are quite a number of proposed amendments which the Committee has explained to us as a House and we need to support them so that we safeguard Kenyans, more so the common mwananchi against what is happening in the country today. The reality of the matter is that as the representatives of the people, we interact with them and they are going through very hard times. This is the time to ensure that we do not make the situation worse for them. With those remarks, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I support."
}