Governors push for law to regulate taxes

The Council of Governors now wants senators to come up with a framework to regulate levies and cess charged to businesspeople transporting products from one county to the other.

Speaking yesterday on behalf of the Council of Governors, Uasin Gishu's Jackson Mandago said that the Senate, as an empowered representative of the interests of the counties and their governments, should come up with a clear policy direction.

“We need to have the Senate agree and give a clear framework on how the trans-county boundary levies and cess should be handled because some business people are incurring a lot of expenses moving from one county to the other,” said Governor Mandago.

LEVIES

He was speaking at the Eldoret Town Hall during the Finance and Budget Committee Public Hearing on Public Private Partnership Amendment Bill, 2017.

“What we are saying, as the Council of Governors, is that the Senate should come up with a framework to ensure that if a businessman is ferrying certain goods from one county to the other, he doesn’t have to pay cess in all the counties that he is criss-crossing. He can just pay the cess in one and then proceed to his destination,” he explained.

Governor Mandago, who was accompanied by his deputy Daniel Chemno, County Executives Emily Kogos (Trade) and Julius Rutto (Finance), said that businesspeople were spending a lot of money on the roads through the payment of cess.

“As a country, we should strive to make the business environment encouraging for everyone instead of distorting it through raising the cost of doing business,” Governor Mandago added.

PARTNERSHIPS

The Senate Committee on Finance and Budget chairperson, Mr Mohamed Maalim, said the Public Private Partnership Amendment Bill, 2017 was an important law for the country as it would go a long way in regulating the financing of development projects.

“Most governments across the world thrive economically because of the Public Private Partnership. This is because the development projects are funded by the private sector. This is why we are engaging Kenyans in giving their views on this bill,” said the Mandera Senator.

He was accompanied by Senators Aaron Cheruiyot (Kericho), Farhia Ali Haji (nominated) and Rose Nyamunga (nominated).

Senator Cheruiyot urged county governments to put the bill into consideration, saying that it would enable them to implement some of their development projects.

“Through this bill, counties will not be stuck with white elephant projects as it has been before,” he said.