Browsing by Author "Mwinzi, CPA Faustin"

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Electric buses offer a way out of the transport chaos
(Business Daily, 2022) Mwinzi, CPA Faustin
The 14th day of every month is a day all Kenyans have to hope against hope. They are all ears as the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (Epra) announces the monthly fuel price review, with the expectation of a reprieve from the ever-escalating costs. Rarely do prices come down, even marginally. While hoping for a miracle one day, you’ll get reminded that there is a preferential VAT treatment on fuel that is not guaranteed to last. Worse still, there is a government subsidy that can be withdrawn at will. But wait a minute, we have oil reserves in the country. The projection way back in 2012 when the discovery of oil reserves was announced was that Kenya would be an oil-rich country by this day. We live to wait for that day when we will have surplus oil production for use and export.
Stability in tax policy is key to investor confidence
(The Accountant, 2023) Mwinzi, CPA Faustin
Every Second Thursday in the Month of June is a special day in Kenya’s fiscal calendar. This is the day everyone waits for anxiously. It is a day for surprises and reliefs, for hits and misses, for the goodies and losses- all contained in that treasured briefcase from the treasury. First we get the allocations, then comes the dreaded part – the spelling out of new tax measures. Change in tax policy is inevitable, of course the government and its subjects must keep adapting to the economic dynamics. However, the changes must be well thought out, fair to the masses and most importantly predictable. It is not uncommon to see a new policy being implemented in one fiscal year only to be withdrawn in the successive period. The injudicious change in fiscal laws offend the second maxim in taxation which is certainty. Stability is a close relative to certainty. Certainty deals with a current situation while stability deals with how that situation will be in future. Stability implies that changes in tax policies should be in force for a specified period that is a fixed term from when they come into force until they are withdrawn. That idea sounds utopian but needs to be explored.
This tech can tap every collectible coin
(2023) Mwinzi, CPA Faustin
The electronic tax invoice management system (e-Tims) that the Kenya Revenue Authority recently rolled out is touted to be the game-changer in tax administration. It allows VAT-registered traders to connect real-time to the KRA database using any technology, including mobile phones. By pushing for the introduction of this new technology, President William Ruto has stood by his clarion call: to collect every collectible shilling. Technology with the potential to double the VAT revenue yield is most welcome, but there is more to this technology. Taxes impose some incidental costs on society, making them even more punitive.