The 47 Counties have been urged to put in place taxation systems that do not overburden investors.
The National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Mr Henry Rotich, said there have been multiple taxation by some Counties on investors which should not be the case. “It is clear on what the National government and Counties are supposed to tax and so the taxation system implemented by the devolved units is important to the private sector,” said Mr Rotich during a Kwale county government development forum.
He said there had been double taxation in some counties and that is why they will soon hold a conference with governors to discuss the issue. “Kwale county should promote investment of the huge resources in the area by putting in place an efficient taxation system that does not scare them,” he remarked.
The CS was referring to last year’s incident where Kwale government wanted Base Titanium Mining Company to pay levy for transporting minerals from the area. Mombasa county also wanted to tax the miners, but the Cabinet Secretary protested in a letter advising the two counties to stop double taxation. He said counties should actualize their County Integrated Development plans in collaboration with private sector.
“The only way to attract the private sector to the counties is by improving the business environment which ranges from expenditure plans and the taxation system,” he said. Mr Rotich said County Integrated Development Plan(CIDP) should be well aligned to Vision 2030 that promotes economic growth, prosperity, social development, good governance and delivery of services efficiently.
He said that the plan should in the end deal with challenges of employment, inequality and poverty which continue to be bigger issues in the national and county level. “To address these issues, the county plans and those of national level should be synchronized to ensure that we can move the economy faster and address such challenges,” he said.
