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{
    "id": 421331,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/421331/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 307,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Midiwo",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 184,
        "legal_name": "Washington Jakoyo Midiwo",
        "slug": "jakoyo-midiwo"
    },
    "content": "reservations are not honest because I do not see how the items that have been listed down by hon. Mbadi would offend anybody, if they are exempted from VAT. The list contains items like milk, sanitary towels and supply of electricity. It beats logic that anybody would have any reservations about the list. The conservatives at the National Treasury must let Parliament do its legislative work. Legislation is the role of Parliament. When we passed the VAT Act, 2013 a few months ago, there was a lot of controversy because people were not willing to talk. So, we have hurt the economy. If we do not rectify the problem that we are seeing in the economy today, by Christmas, we will begin seeing a negative growth in the economy because we are overtaxing Kenyans. We ask Members of Parliament to remain sober. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I do not want to talk about the items that hon. Mbadi has listed down because debate on them has been exhausted. There are other provisions in the Bill that repealed the original VAT Act, which we must also look at. For example, air travel is an issue. Immediately the VAT Act, 2013 was passed, the cost of air travel to Mombasa and Kisumu from Nairobi doubled. It cost a lot more to travel outside the country. Why? Because somebody decided to tax the fee that travel agencies charge. That is an anomaly. We are not encouraging business. We are looking at air travel as a luxury. Therefore, we will be bringing an amendment to sort out that bit. Another area of concern is the service charge imposed on hoteliers. It is true that the people who brought the Bill to this House did not think through. If you access services at the Intercontinental Hotel, you appreciate that there is something called “service charge”. That charge is passed on to the consumer. In many hotels across the country, there is only one charge. If the price of a meal is Kshs2,000, VAT is inclusive. An employer pays his employees, whose salaries are taxed. Levying VAT on employee’s salaries is tantamount to double-taxing such employees. That is not fair. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, this Bill could not have come at a better time. We are now talking about salaries. When you tax somebody’s salary twice, you disadvantage them. This House has a responsibility to stay sober and do the right thing. Sugar is now the most overtaxed commodity. It is also the most used commodity by many Kenyans. Only industrial sugar is supposed to be included in the VAT bracket but some unscrupulous businessmen bring table sugar into the country through our ports of entry. This malpractice is killing the sugar sector. Therefore, something must be done to save the sugar sector from collapse. Members of Parliament from the sugar sector will be proposing that the Government establishes something like the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) to buy all the sugar from the factories. The sugar factories are full. I was in Muhoroni this week, some sugar is kept in board rooms. I was at SONY Sugar Factory on Sunday. The sugar was stored in board rooms because some unscrupulous business people have flooded the market with cheap sugar. We must do something about it. Let the Government buy sugar from the sugar factories and release it to the market on need basis. Nobody imports sugar into this country without the authority of the Government. Anybody who imports sugar has some permit to do so from the Government. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, it is not how much you tax that matters, It is how large your tax bracket is. Let us help the Government to broaden the tax base. It is not just how high you tax. In fact, you can tax so many people but tax them less, so that 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."
}