Soy Member of Parliament David Kiplagat has voiced his support for the Finance Bill 2024, arguing that the tax amendments proposed within it are vital for the country’s fiscal health.
In an interview with K24 TV on Friday, June 21, 2024, Kiplagat defended the 204 Members of Parliament who voted in favor of the bill, stating that their decision was not a betrayal of Kenyans but a responsible action necessary for the nation’s welfare.
Tax hikes necessary
Kenya Kwanza parliamentarian David Kiplagat underscored the importance of the government’s need to increase revenue to facilitate the execution of the budget.
He pointed out that failing to pass the Finance Bill would have negatively impacted the pending approval of the Budget Appropriation Bill. Kiplagat emphasized the potential Ksh200 billion budget deficit that would arise if Members of Parliament amended the Finance Bill. This bill aims to generate more than Ksh300 billion in revenue for the next financial year.
“Running the government is a balancing act because you have to raise revenue to support the budget. We cannot run our country on debt. Our objective as Kenya Kwanza government is to have a balanced budget in the next three years and we can only achieve that by reducing the debt to GDP ratio which has been coming down.
“To do that you have to take the hard decision, and the hard decision is to raise revenue which we can only do through raising taxes,” Kiplagat quipped on the morning show.
