Are VAT refunds just another State rip-off?

By MORRIS ARON
In April 2007, a team of budget experts seated on the fifth floor of Treasury Building made a decision that was to hurt businessmen — and the Government — for years to come. Their aim was simple: To net all the tax evaders and grow tax revenue for the Government and sieve the process through a double-gated checkpoint.

The plan backfired hardly a year into implementation — leading to the tax refund mess that is today.
The technocrats proposed that for any service or goods rendered, VAT was to be paid twice to KRA.