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{
    "id": 825279,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/825279/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 483,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Kipkelion East, JP",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Joseph Limo",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1915,
        "legal_name": "Joseph Kirui Limo",
        "slug": "joseph-kirui-limo"
    },
    "content": "Finally, Robin Hood Tax has been controversial. It is a tax which is designed to tax the better endowed people and help the lower to get better life. As it is designed in this Bill, it proposes to introduce a charge of 0.05 per cent for every transfer of amount exceeding Kshs500,000 from one account to another. For avoidance of doubt, when you compute Kshs500,000, the percentage translates to Kshs250. That tax is ring-fenced for the purpose of providing universal healthcare for our people. So, this particular proposal, if passed, will have all the money collected channelled to provision of universal healthcare. During the discussions we had with the stakeholders, they had a lot of observations. Our Committee, will at the Committee Stage, introduce some amendments to do exceptions. Exception means it will not make sense, for instance, to charge a tax to transfer money from your own account to your other account. If you are transferring your own money from one account to another, then it will not be a complete transaction because it is your money moving. It is like moving money from your pocket to another pocket. There must be a display that money moved from your pocket to another person’s pocket. Those exceptions will be moved during the Committee Stage including money being transferred from one Government account to another, county government accounts, national Government and KRA to another KRA account. Some of the other issues which were raised by the stakeholders are like investment account. For instance, if you are buying shares as an individual, when you transfer money to your broker, if the brokerage firm is charged for transferring money to buy you shares, then they will transfer the cost to you. Effectively, they will be exempted from that as long as they are buying shares or Treasury Bills on behalf of customers. If they are buying for their own investment, then they are charged. That is just but among the many other exceptions. Finally, it is the elephant in the House which people have been talking about. This Finance Bill has 71 clauses. Among those 71 clauses, only one is what is called Banking Act Amendment which touches on the capping of interest rates. It is proposing to repeal Section 33(b) of the Banking Act. Effectively, what it means once repealed, is that it will release the interest rates to be determined by the market. After long deliberations and listening to the Kenyans, we were unable to support that particular amendment the way it is. The Committee discussed and considered comments from the members of the public. During the introduction of the interest capping, for avoidance of doubt, and to bring to speed anybody in this country who is The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}