Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 466768,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/466768/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 365,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. J.K. Bett",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1765,
        "legal_name": "James Kimaru Bett",
        "slug": "james-kimaru-bett"
    },
    "content": "Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I am glad to contribute to this Finance Bill. However, I am saddened by the low turnout of hon. Members as we debate this Bill. This particular Bill is just as important as the Budget itself and we would have expected to have more contributions. I support this Bill because it broadens the revenue base. We will have more collection from Income Tax, monies put aside as retirement benefits and so on. We have seen that the people who have been most affected in Kenya as we talk of Kenyans being overburdened by tax are the small persons out there. The big fish out there who earn a lot of money have ways of evading tax. We have had people earning super salaries yet they are exempt from Excise Duty when they, for example, import cars just by the virtue of being State Officers. We have had parliamentarians being exempt from paying such taxes. This used to happen in the past because right now we are paying. I am glad that out of my salary, say, 30 per cent of it which is about Kshs300,000--- This is information that should go to all and sundry that parliamentarians are paying Income Tax properly to the very last cent. Each parliamentarian pays over Kshs300,000 as tax. When the tax base is expanded so that everybody pays, that is a good thing. We should not have sacred cows being exempted from paying tax. That amounts to an abuse and something that cannot be understood. If you earn so much, why should you be 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."
}