Kenya: MPs succumb to tax payment

  1. Posted on Wednesday 26 November 2008 - 08:31
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    Alex Kiarie, AfricaNews reporter in Nairobi, Kenya
    Two more Members of Parliament of Kenya have succumbed to pay tax barely four days after another MP voluntarily offered to have his salary and allowances taxed. They are Jeremiah Kioni of Ndaragwa and Francis Nyamu of Tetu constituencies. The MPs earlier this month objected moves to tax them.
    kenya map
    All the three MPs have written to the Clerk of Kenya's National Assembly to that effect. The recent two hail from President Mwai Kibaki's native district of Nyeri.

    Meanwhile, the Speaker of the National Assembly Dr Kenneth Marende has appealed to the MPs to pay tax as a philanthropic gesture. He thanked the three MPs for offering to help Kenyans shoulder the burden of paying tax.

    This came at a time when media houses are leading a spirited campaign to have MPs huge salaries taxed. On Monday, the Standard newspaper carried a detailed feature on how most MP's spend the allowances in foreign countries. According to the paper, the countries most preferred by the legislators are UK, USA and Switzerland.

    As the interim minister for finance John Michuki tables the finance bill which also includes the clause that forces the MPs and other constitutional office holders to pay tax, many Kenyans expect the parliament to amend it so as to safeguard their interests.

    Kenyan MPs are among the best paid in the world. A Kenyan MP's salary can easily dwarf the British Prime minister's. 60 percent of Kenyans live on less than a dollar a day.

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