Govt: Bill to scrap tax exemptions to be tabled before long

By Correspondent David

William Lukuvi, Minister of State Prime Minister's Office-Coordination and Parliamentary Affairs

A bill to nullify tax exemptions for both local and foreign investors is to be tabled before Parliament in the near future the government has said.

Minister of State Prime Minister’s Office-Coordination and Parliamentary Affairs William Lukuvi made the remarks when responding to a question by Kangi Lugola (Mwibara-CCM) who wanted to know if and when the said bill will be tabled.

In his response, Lukuvi confirmed that the government does intend to table the bill and said the Parliamentary Standing Committee has already directed the government to go ahead and table the bill.

According to him, the bill shall be presented in the Parliament soon after the Parliamentary Leadership Committee is ready.

Formulating his question, Lugola was of the view that the government stands to significantly increase its revenue should tax exemptions be scrapped.
According to him, the move would see that budget deficits are addressed.

Based on the Controller and Auditor General (CAG) report, over 1.5trn/- has been exempted in tax exemptions during the 2012/2013 financial year alone.

“Yet the government has only been depending on the exploitation of workers through the Pay as You Earn (PAYE) taxing system…” he told the House. 

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN