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{
    "id": 601895,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/601895/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 143,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Langat",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 384,
        "legal_name": "Benjamin Kipkirui Langat",
        "slug": "benjamin-langat"
    },
    "content": "requirement by this Bill to go online is clearly a step in the right direction. It is going to reduce pressure on KRA. It will eventually reduce the amount of money that we spend on employees. The Bill squarely puts the administration of all taxes on the Commissioner-General (CG) of KRA. I like the provision under Clause 5 that the CG takes the overall responsibility. Clause 5 provides that the powers of the CG shall be delegated to the staff of KRA, so that staff in Mombasa can perform their duties. I heard somebody saying that we need KRA to be in every county. We have staff in Mombasa who have already been given powers to collect taxes at that level. There are always concerns when KRA collects one’s documents. There is concern about how documents will flow. Clause 6 of this Bill requires that the CG shall keep all the information that they come across in the course of their duty in confidentiality. I like it because we do not want the information that goes to the KRA to be shared with competitors of different businesses. I like the way it is put, that the CG will have to keep it confidential, but the Bill has also provided situations where the information may be shared. That is very good. The Bill deals with so many items and I do not want to deal with all of them. On the record keeping, the Bill requires all the taxpayers to maintain records in official languages, which are given in the Constitution as English and Kiswahili. I do not want somebody to keep records in their language and say that those are the documents that they have. That provision is very clear. It also provides that all those records must be kept in a manner that the CG will be able to determine the tax liability. It is not enough for you to keep any other records. You are required to keep the records in a manner that is possible for your tax liability to be determined. In other words, the CG will expect you to keep records on sales and expenses, so that the KRA will be able to determine your tax liability. The other thing on record-keeping, which is now standardized, is that we have to maintain all these records for a period of five years. You should not keep the records this year and destroy them next year. You have to keep them for five years, so that in case of any issue, we can refer to the five-year records. That means that if the KRA has not followed up beyond five years, then there is a problem. There is the issue of tax returns which we all make. Tax returns form a basis for determination of tax liability. This is a must. What I like in this Bill - which has not been there before - is the fact that in the event you realise you will not be able to make your returns at the prescribed time, you can request the CG to give you an extension of time. This is very important because all taxpayers are not the same. You may be in circumstances which may not allow you to file returns at the right time. So, this Bill gives some a chance to apply to the CG to extend the time within which you can file your returns. This Bill is customer or taxpayer friendly in many aspects. One of them is that it gives you an opportunity to apply and extend the time to file your returns. In the event that you have a reason and you may not able to pay the taxes that are due at that right time, you can request the CG to give you more time, or to pay in installments; this will depend on the liquidity position of your company. This is also a way of being customer or taxpayer friendly. We were used to KRA that has been very arrogant. They could close your business. This time round we are saying that, yes, you have the tax liability, you are supposed to have paid around this time, but we are giving you more time to pay your taxes within a given period. 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."
}