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| KANU party chairman Gideon Moi |
Kenya African National Union party chairman Gideon Moi has asked members of the national assembly to shoot down the Finance Bill 2024.
In his appeal to lawmakers, the KANU boss said the new tax proposals are punitive and will cause more pain to citizens. Moi argues that the country’s most pressing challenge is wastage and should be addressed.
“Economic experts agree that Kenya does not face a revenue problem but an expenditure issue. Increasing taxes in an attempt to address the budget deficit places an unnecessary burden on Kenyans,” he said
He said the proposed changes to the bill that the majority has announced still fall short as the bill in its entirety contains clauses that will also have far-reaching economic consequences.
“The National Assembly must reject the Finance Bill, 2024, in its entirety. The proposed amendments to clauses of the bill prescribing highly unpopular taxation measures have been canceled out by other equally punitive proposals slipped into the bill,” he said
Moi said the Kenya Revenue Authority fell short of its projected tax revenues despite aggressive taxation measures introduced by the Finance Bill, 2023. This, he says, demonstrates that higher tax rates do not necessarily result in higher tax revenue.
“To achieve economic prosperity, Kenya must prioritize Industrialization Over Taxation to progressively expand the tax base,” he said