Gatanga Member of Parliament Edward Muriu has revealed that President William Ruto has agreed to climb down and lower the contentious housing levy from 3 per cent to 1.5 per cent.
The legislator, who also serves as the Secretary of Legal Affairs for the United Democratic Alliance (UDA), said in a tweet on Monday that the President had listened to Kenyans.
“Thanks, H.E for listening to Kenyans on the tax bill proposal with levy coming down from 3% to 1.5%, Kenyans are happy,” the MP posted on Twitter complete with a photo of himself, Ruto and other top government officials.
“The next battlefront is KPLC power bills. They have doubled confront the power Purchase Agreements head on,”
His post was endorsed by Dennis Itumbi, the Chief Administrative Secretary (CAS) Communications, Telkom & Digital Economy who retweeted it saying “Feedback counts, President Ruto listens.”
This revelation comes just a day after the Finance and Planning Committee of the National Assembly made additional recommendations to a number of contentious clauses in the Finance Bill 2023, ahead of its tabling in Parliament on Tuesday.
Feedback counts. President @WilliamsRuto listens. https://t.co/rkRdOQhEm0
— -Dennis Itumbi (@OleItumbi) June 12, 2023
Top on the recommendation list was the proposal to lower the 3% Housing Levy to 1.5 % which would only be deducted from employees.
The committee also recommended that its implementation be deferred to January 2024 in order to put in place a watertight legal framework ahead of its implementation.
The Levy was the main talking point in the Finance Bill 2023 public participation hearing.
Chairperson of the committee and Molo MP Kuria Kimani on Sunday said they are also recommending that the 15% VAT on Digital Content Creation be reduced to 5.
The Committee has also recommended tax waivers on Agricultural inputs, vaccines and electric cars.
However, the National Assembly Finance Committee has recommended the retention of the 16% VAT on Petroleum products.
With the Finance Bill 2023 set for Tabling in parliament on Tuesday, the second reading of the bill on the floor of the house is expected on Wednesday after the approval of the House Business Committee.
