CORPORATE INTELLIGENCE AFRICA ISSUE 0024 | Page 29

“The passing of this bill will pose challenges to poor school going girls and women, among them missing out in class resulting in loss of learning which ultimately affects the quality of education they receive,” said FIDA chairperson Ruth Aura. In 2004, the government applied a zero-rate import duty on sanitary pads, as part of a strategy to enable women and girls to attend school consistently uninterrupted. FIDA Kenya further maintains that the taxation of sanitary pads will be

a key reversal of the very commitment made by his Excellency President Uhuru Kenyatta in his 8th June 2011 budgetary speech. Bill suffers blow in parliament The parliamentary Committee on Agriculture, Livestock and Co-operatives has further threatened to withdraw its support for the Bill. The 29-member committee plans to push for an amendment to the Bill to exempt maize and wheat flour from taxation. The committees, headed by Lugari MP Ayub Savula, have been sitting to review the Bill and its impact on Kenyans. Mr Savula said the National Treasury should consider other means of raising revenues rather than imposing tax on commodities, which are consumed by majority of Kenyans. He observed that Treasury should even increase taxes on cigarettes and alcohol rather than basic items. “We have been meeting as a committee to analyse this Bill and push an amendment to exempt unga and wheat flour from taxation,” he said. The pressure from interested parties in the bill has seen the government remove bread and maize flour from the proposed Value Added Tax (VAT) Bill, which is set for legislation in parliament. President Uhuru Kenyatta supported the amendments, saying the decision was reached after the Jubilee Parliamentary Group meeting. “Following consultations at Jubilee Parliamentary Group meeting, it was agreed that amendments will be tabled in parliament to allow for exemption of Maize flour and bread in the proposed VAT Bill,” President Kenyatta said.

“The consumer will feel this burden in the form of high prices and inflation while our industry will lose competitiveness and market in the region.”
He said Members of the Jubilee Parliamentary Group agreed to support the amendment when debate on the Bill begins in Parliament. “A successful amendment will ensure these vital commodities continue to be zero-rated,” Kenyatta added. It was also understood that the proposed amendments to VAT Bill 2013 could see stockbrokerage fall under the bracket of taxable financial services, an additional cost that market intermediaries say will be passed on to buyers and sellers of shares at the bourse. Under the current VAT Act, financial services including stockbrokerage, insurance agency brokerage, tea and coffee brokerage are exempted from taxation. Mr Rotich defended the retabling of the Bill, saying distressed consumers are getting subsidies on other public services. He said the government has made moves to subsidize services like maternity care, access to healthcare facilities and education \??Z[??]??[?x?&\?^[?]\?\??[?H??\?[?H???[??8?'H?[[??H?\?]?HY??^Z[?H[?[?[??[?Y?]?H?\??[YK?]\?\??Y[??Y[??\??]H??[?H?X?\?H???YK??H\?H??[???Y?\??\?H?[[??\?[?[?Y?[?H???[Y\?8?'HH?ZY????][?[?X\?\?H?X?[?]?X?]\?H[??H??X?\?[??H??X\?[??[??\?[[?K???H???UHS?SQ?S??HQ??P?H??UU?UUU?HS?VS??U?H?T?S?T??S??Q???????]Z[?[Y?[??XY??X?K??]???B??