Entry Instance

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

{
    "id": 81261,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/81261/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 589,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Kenyatta",
    "speaker_title": "The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 168,
        "legal_name": "Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta",
        "slug": "uhuru-kenyatta"
    },
    "content": " Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to move that the Finance Bill be now read a Second Time. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I wish to thank the hon. Members for the support that they have continued to give to the fiscal and monetary policies and projects being implemented by the Government. Their support has enabled the Government to succeed in its efforts of bringing economic recovery back on track as evidenced by real GDP growth from 1.6 percent in 2008 to 2.6 percent in 2009. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the measures I proposed in my budget speech are aimed at sustaining economic recovery that has continued to accelerate as a result of the increased confidence by consumers and businesses as well as capital markets basically. The taxation measures I proposed in the Finance Bill are aimed at accelerating economic recovery, job creation and poverty reduction. The miscellaneous measures are aimed at enhancing the stability of the banking systems and reducing the cost of borrowing and restoring confidence in the capital markets. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, highlighting just a few proposals, we have the Excise Duty which has been a major challenge. This may have contributed to poor performance on Excise Duty revenue. In order to address the situation and to embrace international best practices, I propose to amend the law to grant the Commissioner, powers to prescribe in a gazette notice, metering devices that licenced manufacturers and the excisable goods shall provide and maintain in their premises for the purposes of accounting for Excise Duty. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, in order to make our airports competitive, I have proposed to amend the VAT Act to exempt landing and parking services provided to aircrafts from VAT. I propose also to scrap the advance tax payable by public service vehicle drivers and conductors before they are issued with PSV badges by the Registrar of Motor Vehicles. It is worth noting that PSV drivers, especially those that are yet to secure employment have experienced challenges in trying to cope with this requirement. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, in order to encourage Kenyans in the diaspora to participate in economic development of this country, I propose to amend Income Tax Act to grant tax amnesty to this class of people in respect of income earned by them prior to 2010. The Government is also investing heavily in information technology in order to keep up with new technology and to reduce the cost of doing business. The Kenya Revenue Authority has not been left behind and several tax procedures and formalities have been automated. However, the public has been very slow to adapt to this new technology. In order to ensure the usage of new technology, I propose to amend the Income Tax Act to empower the Commissioner to gazette tax procedures or formalities, including persons who will be required to use the new system. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, in order to enhance the fight against corruption through procurement, I have proposed to amend the Public Procurement and Disposal Act, to require the Director-General of the Public Procurement and Oversight policy to consider recommendations for institutions such as the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission (KACC), the Criminal Investigations Department (CID), and the Controller and Auditor-General (C&A-G) from barring any person from participating in public procurement. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, with those few remarks, I beg to move and ask hon. Obure to second."
}