High Court begins hearing suit against new taxes law

The High Court will hear Wednesday cases challenging the implementation of the Finance Act 2018, which gives the government authority to collect new taxes for the year to next June.

Justice Wilfrida Okwany issued the directive on Wednesday and certified the matter as urgent.

The judge asked activist Okiya Omtatah, who was the first to challenge the tax law, to give copies of his case documents to the Attorney-General (AG) Paul Kihara Kariuki and the National Assembly.

The AG had requested to be granted a hearing before any orders are issued regarding the Finance Act, arguing it was a matter of public interest.

“The purpose of this letter therefore is to humbly and most respectfully request court to accord the AG a hearing before it can consider granting any orders against him,” said Solicitor-General Kennedy Ogeto who had signed the letter on behalf of the AG.

The Act introduced the 8 per cent value added tax on all petroleum products, 2 percentage rise on excise duty for mobile phone money transfers to 12 per cent and doubled the excise duty on the fees charged by banks, money transfer services, and other financial institutions to 20 per cent.

Last Friday, Mr Omtatah sued the AG and the National Assembly over the Finance Act 2018, which was assented to by President Uhuru Kenyatta and published in the Kenya Gazette on September 21.

According to the activist, the Finance Bill 2018 died the moment it was declared that those MPs opposed to the President’s amendments had failed to raise requisite numbers to override the President’s veto.

He argued that the Speaker of the National Assembly was wrong to thereafter present a dead Bill to the President for assent because the Bill failed to garner two- thirds support of Mps or 233.

“It is a wrong interpretation of the Constitution which allows the President to usurp the powers of the Legislature, allowing him to legislate with the support of a minority of one-third of MPs”