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{
    "id": 685318,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/685318/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 168,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Rotino",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 2774,
        "legal_name": "Philip Lotiolo Ruto Rotino",
        "slug": "philip-lotiolo-ruto-rotino"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker for giving me the opportunity to add my voice on this very important Bill. At the outset, I support this Bill very much. This is because this Bill goes a long way in assisting the Government raise revenue to be able to finance the Kshs2 trillion Budget that we have. I want us to touch on a few issues that are of concern to me. First of all, I want to encourage the President to sign the Banking (Amendment) Bill that is on his desk. It is very important for that Bill to be signed for the interest rates to come down. Why do we have these interest rates going up all the time? We should try to discourage the Government from borrowing from domestic banks. This is because when the Government borrows from domestic banks, it encourages interest rates to go up. Let us discourage the Government from borrowing domestically because if it does, interest rates go up. As a result it affects our small borrowers who have difficulty repaying loans. On the specialised equipment that are imported or purchased locally, we spend a lot of money on people going abroad to seek specialised medical treatment. If we can exempt taxes on equipment used to treat patients, it is going to save our people from spending a lot of money going abroad to seek specialised treatment. Therefore, this is welcome and good move. I want to join my colleagues by saying that in as much as we exempt tax on fodder feeds for our animals, the Departmental Committee on Finance, Planning and Trade should look at what we require to encourage our people, especially, those who have animals that move freely in those areas. As much as we support exemption of taxes on these fodder feeds, we should also exempt taxes on companies that deal with animal product like the KMC. We should exempt taxes on drugs which are used in dips like the acaricides. We should make sure everybody feels the tax exemption. Concerning tourism gate fees being reduced, this does not really encourage tourism. Just like my colleague has said, it is not really encouraging tourists by simply removing taxes on gate fees. We have to create conducive atmosphere for our tourists so that they enjoy a variety of things that we offer them within our parks. If you read the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Report that was brought to the House, you will find that there are many loopholes in our taxes and the revenue that we have. We should discourage corruption so that the funds we raise go to the right places. This will encourage those who pay taxes because they will know that the taxes they pay are being 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."
}