Governors give up push for taxes By CAROLINE WAFULA Governors on Friday softened their stance on key areas of county management after they agreed to subject the new levies they had imposed in their regions to the Constitution. During a consultative meeting chaired by Deputy President William Ruto in Nairobi on Friday, the taxation issue, which has sparked controversy, was discussed at length among other challenges facing counties. Senators recently came out strongly to oppose the heavy taxes imposed by county governments, terming them unconstitutional. The resolution could see the nullification of some of the outrageous levies introduced in several counties. The Deputy President described yesterday’s discussions as intense and robust and that they had managed to thrash out all outstanding issues. “I say with a lot of confidence that we had a robust engagement that has given everybody here hope that although we started out with a lot of challenges, there is clear writing on the wall that devolution in this country is headed for success,” the DP said at the end of the deliberations at the Kenya School of Government. Mr Ruto said there should be clear differentiation between fees charged for county services and taxes. He said governors needed to understand the powers and constitutional bases used to implement County Finance Bills. National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich said counties should prioritise and exercise financial discipline in view of limited financial resources. “We won’t be able to meet all the needs of county governments,” he said and told them they should set realistic fiscal expenditure plans in line with the Public Finance Management Act. The deliberations formed the second Inter-Governmental Budget and Economic Council meeting under the Office of the Deputy President. The County Financial Bills, the source of the controversial levies adopted by some counties, featured prominently in the discussions. Constitutional scrutiny It was agreed that fees charged by counties would be separated from taxes, and that the taxes would be subjected to proper constitutional scrutiny as has been demanded by the Senate. Daily Nation
Posted on: Sat, 01 Feb 2014 05:06:55 +0000
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