Budget debate leaves hustlers a bit lost on impact of new taxes

National Assembly session soon after recess, June 6, 2023. [Elvis Ogina, Standard] A 'hustler' watching Wednesday's debate on the Finance Bill 2023 in Parliament must have been cheerful at first since every lawmaker claimed to be fighting for them, but ended up perplexed over who was truly on his side. The argument from Kenya Kwanza Alliance MPs was that their colleagues in the opposition did not want hustlers to prosper, and hence their dissent of the proposed Housing Fund levy, a deduction that started out as a contribution, "not a tax," to a full-blown tax. Azimio la Umoja One Kenya MPs were of the opinion that hustlers were duped by the utopia sold to them during the campaigns and they were bound to suffer more if the new tax measures are implemented. The Finance Bill provides for collection of revenue to fund the budget, which in the 2022/2023 financial year is set as Sh3.67 trillion. Molo MP Kimani Kuria, who chairs the Finance and Planning Committee, opened up about how happy Kenyans were to learn of the ballooned budget and the goodies promised to many sectors. He would also disclose that many frowned upon the contentious proposals that have dominated public discourse in recent weeks. They include the housing levy, which many of those who attended the committee's public participation rejected. "Kenyans told us it is a good thing to make houses affordable to the public," he said, adding that they felt 3 per cent housing levy was a bit too much. Molo MP Kimani Kuria. [File, Standard] To ease the burden, and ensure hustlers would get houses, the committee slashed the contribution to the Housing Fund from 3 per cent to 1.5 per cent. Kenyans, boiling with their usual patriotism, informed them that they did not want a refund after seven years, and that was scrapped. Further, they wanted the previous Sh2,500 cap removed as it would be unfair. Of course, the true reason was that they have too much money to spend. Kuria further said Kenyans wanted to own the houses they rent, but Minority Leader Opiyo Wandayi told him it would take a primary school teacher from the village he comes from 200 years to get the house. Wandayi warned that the Bill risks sparking a revolution, saying it not only ridiculed the hustlers but also threatened their lives. His gripe was the 16 per cent VAT on fuel and taxes that threaten the beauty industry, among other issues. "We are used to giving empty and lofty promises and then we forget them soon after elections. This time round the mood I am seeing out there... is that this Bill is a make-or-break point. This Bill can spark a revolution... that will never be ended... of the proletariat," he cautioned. The reduction in taxes on "choppers" did not make sense to the Ugunja MP, and neither did the bloated budgets of the Office of the President, the Deputy President and the Prime Cabinet Secretary, an office he said Kenya could do without. "Moneys that are going to service consumption, to host banquets, to buy flowers, to buy tea," he would say of the allocations to the three offices. Minority Leader Opiyo Wandayi. [[Samson Wire, Standard] Earlier, Nyali MP Mohamed Ali had accused Azimio of spreading rumours about the Bill. He also singled out a Kenya Kwanza MP who has been "inciting the public," but had chickened out, skipping Wednesday's debate. Ali supported the Bill as a necessity in ridding Kenya of its beggar's tag, saying it was time government stopped walking around with a beggar's bowl. The only way to break ourselves free of the chains of begging, he stated, was by tightening our belts. "Tufunge long'i yetu vizuri," he preached to his colleagues, assuring that things would only be tough for "one or two years". But Kathiani MP Robert Mbui dismissed the argument, likening it to Shakahola promise of starving on earth so that one enjoys milk and honey in paradise. Ali was in an accusatory mood, stating that all MPs owned houses that they got courtesy of Sh30 million the taxpayer ensures they receive once elected. "Tuachane na ubinafsi na tufikiri hawa wananchi," he cried out. "Hatuwezi mnyima maskini nyumba na wewe unajipa nyumba." His remarks rubbed Azimio members wrongly, with many saying the Sh30 million was not a grant and is, in fact, a loan that milks their payslips dry. "We are not interested in your house," Migori Woman Representative Fatuma Mohamed said. "It will not come even if we give you 100 per cent levy. Kenyans want food. They don't want houses that do not exist. After all, I am a Muslim and I have a golden house waiting for me in heaven."

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