EDITORIAL: Hasten tax cut debate

Parliament has set Tuesday next week as the date when it will debate President Uhuru Kenyatta’s tax reduction proposals. The date couldn’t have come soon enough. The virus, now in its second month of indiscriminate infections, continues to exert a heavy economic toll, with Kenya’s poor and working masses among the hardest hit by the cost implications of the mitigation measures.

Every day, labourers are losing out as opportunities shrink due to measures like social distancing. This has reduced their income, further denting their ability to meet their needs and those of their families.

This is why the House needs to move with speed and give legal footing to the President’s proposals that will among others slash corporate as well as personal taxes. But even as they do this, they should also look into the clauses that are likely to hurt the citizenry, particularly those regarding taxation of goods like bread and fuel.

Public participation is crucial to the legislative process and despite the sense of urgency, MPs should also work within the law to minimise the chances of the law being annulled on technicalities in the event that it is challenged in court.

Already the Law Society of Kenya has warned that it won’t hesitate to challenge the legislation if the MPs don’t walk the straight and narrow path. The stakes are too high to take the chance, further emphasising the need for the house to ensure that it works within the letter and spirit of the Constitution.

To its benefit, Parliament has already set the ball rolling by asking Kenyans to send their views via email in conforming to the social distancing directive meant to curb the spread of the virus. However, it needs to open more channels of communication, including a toll free number, to ensure that those with views and would like to share them are given sufficient opportunity to do so.

The next step should be for the MPs to speed up debate so that workers can benefit from the tax breaks this month. This will offer relief to many families and their bread winners.