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{
    "id": 808284,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/808284/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 213,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Alego-Usonga, ODM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Samuel Atandi",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13290,
        "legal_name": "Samuel Onunga Atandi",
        "slug": "samuel-onunga-atandi"
    },
    "content": "have been trained in the field of survey who are currently doing nothing yet the Government has only 44 valuers across the country. So, these are very good proposals and I want to support them. The proposals contained on the Stamp Duty Act, where we are going to give opportunity for first-time home owners to be exempted from Stamp Duty is justifiable. In this country, if you are not a cartel, a sugar or drug baron, you find it difficult to own a house. It is the duty of the Government and this Parliament to ensure that we facilitate young people who are just employed from universities and colleges or the youth who are struggling in their small businesses to own houses. They cannot do this if we do not facilitate them as a House. So, I support this proposal. The rejoinder that I would like to add is that this proposal should not be blanket, because we know that there are sons of the rich, and sons of who is who in this country, who would probably find it very easy to own a house for their first time because their fathers would probably support them. So, if we make this proposal blanket, I think it will not serve the purpose for which it is created, which is basically to allow youth from ordinary background to own houses. Some of the proposals contained in the VAT Act are not justifiable. I was surprised when the CS for the National Treasury brought these proposals. How do you bring proposals that in the long-run will make the cost of basic commodities to go up? It will also make local companies to close down or to retrench. When you move products from zero-rating to exempt, in short, you are making the products very expensive. If they become expensive, Kenyans will probably go for imported products. In the long-run, we are going to have these companies retrenching or closing down. The wholesome effect on the economy will be very diverse. So, I would like to say that the amendments which we proposed as the Committee on Finance and National Planning on the VAT should be adopted. The other proposals on this Bill are justifiable and I would like to urge the House to support them. If you look at the budget, we are even wondering how some of those proposed measures will be met, because the revenue projections that are there, if we do not strengthen the tax measures that are being proposed, I doubt whether we are going to meet the proposals in the budget. I also would like us to tax the rich. This is something that we cannot run away from. I was surprised that in the Budget Statement by the CS, he withdrew this proposal. The rich must be taxed because a lot of them have stolen wealth. Even if they are hardworking, businesses that are thriving in this country are businesses done with the Government and we have issues to do with the way these people make their resources. In future, we must bring tax measures that will ensure that those who own so much also pay so much, especially those who own land. There are people in this country who have large tracts of land, which they are not even utilising and yet they are not paying any tax on the land. I believe that we still need to think about other tax measures that should help this country grow its ordinary revenues. Otherwise, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I support. Thank you."
}