MPs are currently debating on the Finance Bill 2023 today, Wednesday, June 14, with President William Ruto expecting the lawmakers to support it overwhelmingly.
Kenyans.co.ke is keeping you updated on a minute-by-minute basis. Keep refreshing this page for updates.
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18:30 House Speaker Moses Wetangula orders for a vote to pass the Finance Bill 2023 through the Second Reading.
15:50 NA Speaker Moses Wetangula reduces the time limit from 5 minutes to 3 for each MP debating the Finance Bill, 2023.
14:59 Rangwe MP Lilian Achieng Gogo opposes the Finance Bill arguing that it is discriminative to women by seeking to increase taxation on cosmetic products.
12:40 Eldas MP Adan Keynan accuses the Azimio side in parliament of intentionally sabotaging Kenya Kwanza's agenda.
The Jubilee-elected MP questioned why Azimio was opposing the Finance Bill without giving an alternative framework to raise revenue.
12:27 Wajir County Woman Representative Fatuna Jehow accuses Kenya Kwanza MPs of supporting a bill they do not like just to please President William Ruto.
12:12 Homa Bay Town MP Kaluma while opposing the bill notes that the parliamentarians would be responsible for the high cost of living.
"The main reason why parliaments exist in the world is to make sure there cannot be taxation without representation. I want to remind both sides of the house, that once this bill passes, it will be you who will have taxed Kenyans," he warned.
12:00 National Assembly Majority Whip Silvanus Osoro making his submissions in support of the Finance Bill, "My grandfather had no foresight to acquire huge tracts of land when his peers were doing so. Let us not make the same mistake as my grandfather in the debate of Housing Fund levy."
11:33 Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro who is also the Chairman of the Budget and Appropriations Committee noted that the Finance Bill had allocated funds for key socio-economic sectors. In particular, he noted that the Bill had proposed an increase of the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) fund from Ksh15 billion to Ksh30 billion. In addition, he stated that each constituency would receive an extra Ksh20 million for National Government Constituency Development Fund (NG-CDF).
11:09 Migori County Woman Representative Fatuma Mohammed while opposing the Finance Bill remarks, "Kenyans are not interested in the housing levy. We do not need a house. There is a golden house waiting for me in heaven."
11:05 Nyali MP Mohammed Ali in support of the Finance Bill states that it is time Kenya raised money through taxation instead of foreign borrowing.
10:57 Kathiani MP Robert Mbui calls for the rejection of the bill in its totality remarking that the current economic situation does not allow the proposed increased taxation.
10:37: Kuria Kimani, the National Assembly Finance Committee chair, says that MPs proposed removing the Ksh2,500 Housing Fund cap after reducing the deduction from 3 per cent to 1.5 per cent. This means that employees and employers will be deducted 1.5 per cent each of an employee's salary. This totals a joint 3 per cent deduction.
"We listened to Kenyans, and they said that it is a good thing to make houses affordable to Kenyans, but they were worried about how we will achieve this.
"They said the 3 per cent deduction was punitive. They also said that if the amount is capped at Ksh2,500, people earning more would be paying less than 3 per cent, which is discriminatory.
"We listened to the view of these Kenyans, and we propose a 1.5 per cent deduction for both employer and employee. It is important to note that the Ksh2,500 capping has been removed."
National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula on Tuesday, June 13, indicated that the legislators would debate the Bill from 9 am and vote on it thereafter.
10:30 Kuria Kimani proposes digital content creators pay a 3 per cent withholding tax.
10:00 Wetangula gives National Assembly Finance Committee Chairman Francis Kuria Kimani 45 minutes to present proposed amendments for the Finance Bill 2023.
09:45 National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula responds to Kitui Central MP Makali Mulu's request to give parliamentarians more time to read the report.
Mulu remarked that the MPs were given a 500-page report prepared by the Finance Committee on the eve of debating the Finance Bill.
Denying the request, Wetangula stated, "What you are going to debate today is not the report but the Finance Bill that was published by the parliament. The report is a support document that legislators can use as reference when debating the Finance Bill."
09:00: MPs arrive in Parliament to debate and vote on the Finance Bill 2023.
The President urged Kenya Kwanza MPs to vote unanimously for the bill noting that it provides a framework on how he would raise revenue to implement his manifesto.
Opposition leaders, however, accused the President of threatening to narrow down on MPs opposing the Bill. This was after Ruto asked lawmakers to vote in an open ballot.
"I want Kenyans to know leaders who are against eradicating unemployment. Those who will oppose the Finance Bill 2023 are enemies of development. I am waiting to see the MPs who will oppose the Housing Fund levy in the Finance Bill 2023," the President remarked on Sunday, June 04.
