Golden chance presented for MPs to amend VAT Act

The Parliamentary Budget Office, an advisory team of economists and fiscal analysts, has done its part and has given the National Assembly the tools it needs to amend the controversial Value Added Tax (VAT) Act, 2013 whose implementation led to a sharp rise in the price of many goods and services consumed by the more vulnerable members of the Kenyan society.

The advisory team argues that although the amendment would result in a Sh4.2 billion shortfall in expected taxes, Kenyans would benefit from a drop in the cost of living and an increase in their disposable incomes. It is incontestable that individuals spend their incomes better than the government does as the increasing number of scandals in the use of public funds readily testifies.