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{
    "id": 954702,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/954702/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 394,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Saku, JP",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Ali Rasso",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13473,
        "legal_name": "Dido Ali Raso",
        "slug": "dido-ali-raso"
    },
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I rise to support the Finance Bill which is a mixed bag. As legislators in this House, one thing we must guard against is exactly what Hon. Chris Wamalwa has said, that we should not allow sneaking of things which in the long run will bite us and affect our people in a big way. After education, taxation is the greatest equaliser. Our tax regime must be clear, fair, transparent, appropriate and an enabler. If it does not fit into this category, then it means it is not a good tax system. If we want to run a good country we must be prepared to pay taxes. If need be we must be prepared to pay more. But, for us to pay taxes, Kenya needs good service delivery whether it is in hospitals, roads, water or all kinds of services, including security. I have looked at both the Bill and the Report by the Committee. I want to thank the Committee for what I consider to be a very detailed and comprehensive Report. In this Bill, we need to guard against three things and one of them is double taxation. It is very easy to talk about the turnover tax by the taxman at the headquarters and counties where taxes are also collected. In the Bill, it states that this should not exceed Kshs5 million during any year of income. Turnover is payable to any resident person. It is good to state as it is, but my worry is the clarity in execution of this particular aspect in this Bill. In the Report there is something Hon. Ichung’wah said, and I quickly perused through the Bill and did not see it. One is the area of growing the tax bracket. Today, the most profitable areas of taxation are the service industry. In the olden days, we used to look at hotels and tours. This was a very narrow approach. But now the taxman is targeting outside the box and into the future horizon on things like digital platform. I was asking myself what Mark Zuckerberg came to do in Nairobi. I thought maybe he was not doing very well in Kenya. It means the money they are making is mind boggling. So, the gentleman came to Nairobi and went to a fish and chips outlet to appreciate that there is a big market in Kenya. The taxman should not just raid the normal areas of cigarettes and beers. They must look at where the money is today. I am happy the Speaker made his ruling and be that as it may, we respect it. The important thing is that lawyers are among the people who make big monies in this country. They basically represent you in all that you do other than the oxygen you breathe in. Here, they have cleverly brought something to the House to expunge Sections 50 and 51 of this Bill. But, I think during the Committee of the whole House it is important for us to see if we can make some money from here. There are a few areas I want to talk about. One is the area on the Proceeds of Crime and the Anti-Money Laundering Act. This is also a major area of cash flow and a threat to the national security of this country. If we do not have the purview of how much is transacted in 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."
}