Jillo Kadida
3 October 2008
Nairobi — Judges plan to make a final decision over taxation of their salaries at a meeting set for next week.
They met on Friday and resolved to seek audience with the head of the Public Service Francis Muthaura over Government's decision to tax the salaries. Their attempt to meet him on Tuesday flopped .
During the meeting on Friday, held at the High Court, the judges said they were seeking constitutional action.
They said the decision by Government was unconstitutional and vowed not to accept it.
Their next meeting will be held on Thursday and all judges were expected to attend, according to sources.
The judges are also said to be considering embarking on a go-slow to push for a solution to the issue.
They are accusing the Government of having ambushed them.
The deductions have been effected in their September pay. The move follows a proposal by former Finance minister Amos Kimunya.
In his budget speech in June, Mr Kimunya proposed that MPs and holders of constitutional offices, whose allowances were exempted, should be taxed like all other Kenyans.
However, MPs who are still enjoying tax-free allowances, are yet to feel the pinch as a decision on how much will be deducted is yet to be made.
Others taxed include officials of the Electoral Commission of Kenya and those of the Public Service Commission. Huge sums of money, about a third of their pay, went to the tax man.
If law is changed
Each of the 222 MPs earns more than Sh800,000 a month, out of which only Sh200,000 is taxed. If the law is changed, each MP would pay at least Sh233,931 in taxes a month.
Their combined tax would contribute at least Sh51.9 million a month or Sh802.8 million a year to the Treasury.
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