KRA ADVISED TO PRESS TAXATION FOR ALL MEMBERS OF THE KENYA PARLIAMENT

By SAMWEL KUMBA AND PATIENCE AHIMBISIBWE
December 10 2008

KRA should insist on uniform application of tax laws as the National Assembly Speaker says law has to be changed before MPs can be taxed.

The tax collector should not accept the proposed voluntary tax payment from some Members of Parliament, the Association of Professional Societies in East Africa has said. Instead, the chairman of APSEA, Daniel Ichang’i said the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) should insist on uniform application of tax laws adding that tax is never paid voluntarily.

According to APSEA, in accepting the proposal, KRA would set a dangerous precedent where tax payment becomes a subject of whether or not to pay.
“Tax is neither a voluntary payment nor a philanthropic gesture as the Speaker of the National Assembly would want Kenyans to believe. Tax is remitted to the State to enhance the welfare of the people,” said Dr Ichang’i.

The APSEA chairman further said that tax payment is an instrument of wealth redistribution crucial in building a just and equitable society.
“By selfishly refusing to pay their taxes, the legislators have demonstrated that they cannot be trusted as leaders and protectors of our political sovereignty, economic freedom, equality and justice,” he argued.

Mr Marende has said the law will have to be changed before the perks of all the 222 MPs can be taxed.

Dr Ichang’i, indicated that the move by MPs to reject taxation of their emoluments would cost Kenya’s economy Sh600 million annually. “It is totally unacceptable especially now that millions of Kenyans are facing extremely difficult times occasioned by spiralling food prices and dwindling incomes.”

At the same time, APSEA proposed that MPs should not be allowed to fix their remuneration. He called for Constitutional changes to provide an objective method of handling the legislators’ pay.“In which case any attempted increase to their emoluments must be subjected to a referendum,” he said.

Dr Ichang’i was accompanied by Evans Monari from the Law Society of Kenya and Joshua Wambua from the Institute of Certified Public Secretaries of Kenya (ICPSK).