Finance Committee To Amend Contentious Finance Bill Clauses
With the Finance Bill 2023 set for Tabling in parliament on Tuesday, the Parliamentary Committee on Finance led by Molo Member of Parliament Kimani Kuria, reached a consensus on a number of contentious clauses in the finance bill.
According to Kimani, the committee has proposed a reduction of the Housing Levy to 1.5% from 3% which they say should only be deducted from employees.
Further, he revealed that the committee had recommended that the housing levy implementation be also deferred to January 2024 for the government to come up with a legal framework before implementation.
The finance committee chairperson said the team also recommends that the 15% VAT on Digital Content Creation be reduced to 5 and tax waivers applied to Agricultural inputs, vaccines, and electric cars.
However, Kimani told local media that they had recommended the retention of the 16% VAT on Petroleum products.
He said they had looked into all the recommendations handed over to them and included them in the 137-page document.
“The committee has come to an agreement on all the clauses and made some amendments based on the petitions we got from members of the public,” he said.
The second reading of the bill is expected on Wednesday after the approval of the House Business Committee.
Kimani has called upon members of the national assembly to consider the gravity of the bill adding that every clause in the Bill has its implication for the country’s economy, and cannot be voted out just because of two clauses.
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