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"id": 955132,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/955132/?format=api",
"text_counter": 316,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Tinderet, JP",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Julius Melly",
"speaker": {
"id": 12849,
"legal_name": "Julius Kipbiwot Melly",
"slug": "julius-kipbiwot-melly"
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"content": "developers, especially those with specific purpose vehicles. This is going to assist on the Big Four Agenda item of housing. This is the right way to do it. This will support the investors. It is going to support those who will put more money in the real estate development and make sure that this country has enough housing. On the same note, when we talk about taxation on digital economy, I think Kenya is one of the most developed countries in terms of e-commerce as we speak. People buy and sell on the net; people buy and sell goods online. This is a new market platform. This is an area where the Government needs to look into so much because there is a lot that goes on the digital platform. I have seen instances where, especially in some nations, almost every individual and businessman has a portal on e-commerce or the digital market place. By taxing this, it expands the taxation base. It will give the country more money. On Value Added Tax, I just want to talk on Clause 18 about the items that have been proposed to be introduced into the exemption regime. I really laud this, especially on agricultural pest control products, locally manufactured motherboards, including input for their manufacture. It is going to be very good, especially on the locally manufactured motherboards. I have seen at the Rift Valley Textiles (RIVATEX), Eldoret, where locally assembled products create employment. By so doing, it is going to give incentives to industrialists and companies that want to assemble. It is the same thing to agricultural pest control products. It will assist farmers to buy and get these products and make sure that their farm products are safe from pests. A few weeks ago, I saw farmers who could not even afford the price of pest control to onions, tomatoes and many other crops. This has affected the income of many farmers across this country. By exempting this, it is going to really assist. I said that plant machinery and equipment for construction of plastic recycling plants have been moved from zero-rating. This is going to assist in recycling. The last one is on banking. I oppose removing interest rate caps on bank interests. The cap which was proposed by Hon. Jude Njomo is good for this country. There are countries where bank interest rates are as low as 4 per cent. Some banks in this country are known to borrow from foreign countries and lend that money elsewhere. They borrow at a lower rate and lend the same money in this country at a higher rate. Removing bank interest rate capping will impede the growth of businesses in this country. Let us allow control. We saw China growing. And china grew because of control. A sector that cannot regulate itself…. Every year, even when we had interest control, the banks were raking in billions of shillings. If this sector had a problem, they would not be getting this money. So, let the interest rate cap remain, at least, for the good of the small investor. The banks cannot arm twist the Government and everyone else by not lending to the SMEs. The Government instead should stop borrowing from the local banks and let the SMEs borrow so that, by so doing, the sector will flourish. So, an amendment needs to be brought at the Committee of the whole House so that this particular proposal is deleted. The banks have to be regulated and controlled. Lastly, on taxing exports, the tax on hides and skin is meant to improve value addition on them. At the same time, it is not right to tax what you are exporting already. So, I am proposing that, if it is possible, let us give more incentives to those producers so that they can add value to the hides and skins in their factories instead of…"
}