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{
    "id": 602032,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/602032/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 280,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Kiaraho",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 2648,
        "legal_name": "David Njuguna Kiaraho",
        "slug": "david-njuguna-kiaraho"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, for giving me this opportunity to contribute. First and foremost, the payment of taxes is paramount to the survival of any Government worldwide. The revenue that is collected is used to steer various development projects. However, it is very important to streamline the structures and systems in this sector, so that the issues that are implemented are applied in a fair way, but not just arbitrary. Why do I say that? As far as the Income Tax is concerned, I have one concern which I would like to share. In the Income Tax, we have the Industrial Building Tax. This means that if, for instance, you put up some rental units, you are given a waiver once you start renting out the units. Up to date, the various auditors who come up with this, when they file their reports, the KRA put them off saying that the particular area that they are talking about has not been gazetted. There is an Act which provides that the (CS) or the then Permanent Secretary for Lands, Housing and Urban Development, ought to have approved the plans. That has proved to be a very big challenge. It is depriving most developers of their money. If that provision is enshrined in the Income Tax Act, it is not the responsibility of the developer or the Commissioner of Income Tax to determine which areas fall under that. It is high time this issue is clarified. On the same note, our country collects a lot of tax from the real estate sector. However, as we try to collect as much tax from that sector as possible, we should not push those developers to the corner. Today, if you want to put up a building, you have to deal NEMA, the county government and the National Construction Authority (NCA). There is a clause that was introduced recently by the Cabinet Secretary for National Treasury, introducing a blanket of 2 per cent payment from what you get from rental units. If you borrow 80 per cent of the construction costs from a bank, it will take some time before you can have any money getting into your pocket. This discourages developers from venturing into the real estate sector. As we move on, I hope we will have room to improve on some of these issues in order to make this sector more attractive to developers. This is an area where the Government can reap a lot of revenue. With those few remarks, I support."
}