‘Finance Bill can only be amended in parliament, not State House’ – Junet Mohamed
Suna East MP Junet Mohamed says the Finance Bill 2024 can only be amended in Parliament, and the announcements made on Tuesday, June 18, 2024, were just that, announcements.
Speaking in Parliament on Wednesday, June 19, 2024, during the Finance Bill 2024 debate, Mohamed termed the announcement by the Chairperson of the Finance and National Planning Committee Kimani Kuria as inconsequential unless adopted by MPs.
"We are debating the bill as it is. The report is giving us proposals on what the committee thinks we need to do. The bill right now is not amended. The Bill can only be amended here. The proposals that you discussed yesterday at State House can only happen here on this floor; those were just press conferences," Mohamed said.
Bill changes
On Tuesday at State House, Kuria announced several changes to the Bill proposed by the committee after public participation.
Among the levies the committee proposed to be scrapped from the Bill include the 16 per cent VAT on bread, the Eco Levy on some items and the hike of taxes on mobile money transfers.
"The proposed 16 per cent VAT on bread has been removed. VAT on the transportation of sugar has also been removed. VAT on financial services and foreign exchange transactions has also been removed," Kuria said.
Kuria also announced that the proposed Motor Vehicle Tax and excise duty on vegetable oil had been proposed for removal.
Speaking in Parliament on Wednesday, Kuria defended the proposed law as a necessary move for the government to collect enough revenues for the 2024/2025 budget.
“As we robustly engage on the conversation about the Finance Bill and critique it, it must be realised that this Bill aims to collect around Ksh346 billion only from a proposed Ksh3.9 trillion. We, therefore, request this House, our departmental committees and Kenyans in the public to interrogate the expenditure side of this Budget as they are interrogating the financing side,” he said.
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