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{
    "id": 376694,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/376694/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 534,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Langat",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 384,
        "legal_name": "Benjamin Kipkirui Langat",
        "slug": "benjamin-langat"
    },
    "content": "I was saying that to-date, out of the complications that arose out of the amendments that were made to the Act over the years, the private sector is demanding a whopping Kshs29 billion because of the system that is in place. So, the decision to introduce this Bill is intended at simplifying the VAT system. One of the greatest tenets of a good public finance system, in terms of taxation, is its simplicity. My colleagues who are conversant with public finance know that a good tax system must be simple to understand and operate. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, we have talked to PriceWaterhouseCoopers on the present Act. They told us that in any single year, a single private sector company spends 273 hours trying to comply with the field issues. At the end of every month, they must comply. Therefore, the need for this repeal is to ensure that the system is simpler for both the Government and the private sector. In fact, the Government requires a system that is less expensive to operate. Therefore, this Bill seeks to reduce some of the expenses. The other issue is that in the current Constitution, there is a provision which says that no law shall be made by Parliament that shall exempt any person from payment of tax because of the office that person holds. However, the current Act, for example, exempts from VAT, supplies for presidential use and supplies to the military. I know that this is a matter which is subject to debate but that is what the Constitution says. The Act says that supplies for those two institutions shall be exempted from VAT because they are for the President of Kenya or the Military of Kenya. Be that as it may, the current Constitution does not allow the existence of such law. Therefore, one of the proposals contained in this Bill is the removal of zero-rating of supplies meant for presidential use and the military, so as to comply with the Constitution."
}