Proposed county taxes law good for business

The government wants to introduce value-added tax (VAT) on insurance services. FILE PHOTO | SHUTTERSTOCK

The proposed law requiring county governments to submit new taxation plans to the Treasury and the Commission on Revenue Allocation before commencement of a new financial year is welcome.

Small businesses have been negatively impacted by arbitrary tax measures as counties impose or vary taxes, fees levy and other revenue-raising measures.

Some of the taxes imposed overlap with national government taxes increasing the cost of doing business in the country. The move to streamline the revenue-raising process will make the county taxation regime predictable and the country an attractive investment destination.

The draft law requires counties to develop well-thought-out taxes and assess the economic impact on individuals and businesses in their jurisdictions, the economic impact on individuals and businesses residing in other counties and the impact on economic development in the country.

It also requires counties to reveal how they arrive at the amount of revenue to be collected on an annual basis and over the three financial years following the introduction of the tax, fee, levy or any other charge.

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Note: The results are not exact but very close to the actual.