KK dishonest about Finance bill concessions-Azimio

Despite President William Ruto’s concessions to the Bill, the opposition pledged Wednesday to kill it, accusing him of insincerity in recent revisions to the controversial Bill.
Azimio’s legislative leadership is now urging President Ruto to remove the Bill in its entirety and reintroduce a more populist one.
The National Assembly Finance and National Planning Committee said on Monday that it has withdrawn and changed several of the problematic elements in the fiscal Bill, which was put on the House floor yesterday.
However, while the committee reduced the 3% housing levy to 1.5% of basic salary, it kept the idea to raise VAT on fuel from 8% to 16%.
“If the Finance Bill is passed as is, the government should be prepared for some unspecified action on 3 July 2023, which is a Monday,” said Opiyo Wandayi, Minority Leader of the National Assembly.
Mr Wandayi went on to add that the proposed amendments were too little, too late, and inconsequential, emphasizing that the cost of living will increase as long as the VAT on petroleum items remained at 16%.
“Our opposition to the Bill is as strong as it has ever been. We’ll shoot it down during debate,” he declared.
Caleb Amisi, the Saboti MP, has asked the President to recall the entire Bill and reintroduce a new one.
Mr Amisi stated that Kenya kwanza’s attempt to change a few provisions are just dirty techniques used by governments to appease voters’ rage.
“Aside from the housing levy, which has sparked controversy, there are many other provisions in that Bill that cannot be amended because doing so would result in the creation of a completely new Bill. We can only support the Bill if they introduce an entirely new bill,” the legislator stated.
Robert Mbui, Deputy Minority Leader, also expressed mistrust in Kenya Kwanza.
“First, the amendments may be rejected by their House members. Second, they do not satisfy our criteria. As long as they keep the 3% turnover tax, 16% VAT on fuel, and advance tax on PSVs and other transporters, the cost of living will continue to rise, which is what we were opposed to,” he stated.
Suna East MP Junet Mohamed stated that the opposition is awaiting the contents of the committee report, which is anticipated to be tabled in the National Assembly, before taking a position.
“Then we will reconsider our position. What’s there hasn’t been officially tabled,” Junet explained.
MPs Lilian Gogo (Rangwe) and Joshua Oron (Kisumu Central) have pledged to vote against the Bill, claiming that it contains provisions that will harm Kenyans.
Dr. Gogo stated that high fuel taxes will raise the cost of life. “Oil taxation will drive up the cost of living. The Bill contains numerous other provisions that will make Kenyans’ lives unbearable,” she stated.
“I will vote No on behalf of the people of Rangwe Constituencies,” she continued.
According to Mr. Oron, the suggested adjustments are modest and will have no effect. He claims that the Bill is still a nightmare for taxpayers and will harm them.
“The changes to the Finance Bill are too little, too late. The housing levy is still an unreasonable tax that should not be permitted to pass this chamber. The cost of living is already high, and any additional tax will make life more difficult and miserable. As a result, I will continue to oppose the Finance Bill and vote no,” he stated.
Uriri MP Mark Nyamita, one of eight ODM MPs who have accepted the new administration, has stated that they will scrutinize the Bill and vote on it clause by clause.
“Initially, we had proposals, and we are waiting for the Bill to be tabled on the House floor. I would not openly condemn the Bill,” Eng. Nyamita stated.
In response, Finance and Housing Committee Chairman Kimani Kuria stated that they have taken into account Kenyans’ views in order to make concessions on the Bill to the best of their ability.
He justified the decision to raise fuel VAT from 8% to 16%, claiming that the bad impact of keeping the 8% outweighed the positive.
“The government stands to lose as petroleum companies become perpetual creditors, affecting the quality of services provided by the government to citizens.  As a result, the subsidized rate of 8% must be phased out,” he stated.