Entry Instance

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

{
    "id": 579157,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/579157/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 238,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. (Ms.) Nyasuna",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 590,
        "legal_name": "Gladys Atieno Nyasuna",
        "slug": "gladys-atieno-nyasuna"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. The Chairman of the Departmental Committee on Finance, Planning and Trade is asking me to be very brief. Probably he wants to reply before we finish. I think it is a reasonable request and I will try to be as brief as possible. I support the Finance Bill, and particularly the exemption of tax for aircraft parts. We have seen what is happening to our national carrier. The most efficient and quickest transport system that we have in this country is quite expensive. I hope that with the exemption of aircraft parts we will see a reduction in the cost of air transport so that more Kenyans can afford it. I had the privilege of visiting Boeing, the company that makes several aeroplanes that are used by different airlines including our national carrier. Aircraft parts are very expensive even before you add tax to them. I was surprised to hear that one first class seat for an aeroplane costs US $50,000 which is about Kshs50 million. I hope to see a reduction in the cost of air transport with this exemption. I am a bit concerned from what I saw in the report of the Finance Committee, that we are now excluding Penicillin and its products from exemption. I would like to hear from the Chairman when replying, why this would be the case. I have tried to look through the harmonised systems and commodities classification code to see whether medication relating to cancer treatment is included in the exemptions. The prominent items are medical supplies which are defined as equipment and accessories. Pharmaceuticals stand on their own. But we want to see medication for cancer treatment included in the harmonised systems commodities code. This should also apply to upgraded medication. Lately, we have seen many young people die. We saw a young man called “Ezra” die from lymphoma cancer. We have also seen many people in this country who cannot afford treatment of cancer dying. I would like to hear from the Chairman, when he replies, why medication such as penicillin is being removed from the exemption list. We are happy that the local film industry has now been boosted by tax exemption. I will not go too much into that because it has already been spoken to by many of our colleagues. Removal of taxation on installation of machines outside Nairobi is a welcome move. We will now see many of our industries moving outside Nairobi and other major cities such as Mombasa and Kisumu. Coming from Homa Bay, I would like to see more industries moving away from these congested cities and coming towards Homa Bay and other places. This will ensure that a number of people will move away from the cities and be employed in these counties. This will also encourage investment. Removal of taxation on compensation is a welcome move. People are giving away their land for purposes of public development. Therefore, receiving compensation and taxing it does not make sense. The whole issue should be discussed and debated by this House. Right now, you 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."
}