Kenya Association of Manufacturers and Commission for Revenue Allocation are working on laws to remove double taxation for businesses in counties.
The draft bills include the Property Rating Bill, Trade Licensing Bill, Revenue Administration Bill, Public Participation law, Entertainment Tax Bill and Finance Bill.
KAM chief executive Phyllis Wakiaga said the draft laws will enable seamless business activities across counties without imposing punitive taxes on business owners.
She said with devolution, each county is keen to raise revenue for operational expenditure which has lead to many levies that discouraged businesses, leading to less business expansion, and closures of others that could not keep up with the high demands.
Under the old constitution, payments such as fees charged for a trading license were only paid once at national level, and a business would not need to pay fees for a trading license when opening office in another part of the country, which is no so at present, she said.
“Double taxation has led to slowing down of new businesses, defeating the spirit of devolution, which should have brought healthy competition,” she said at a forum organised by Strathmore Business School last Friday.
She said the harmonised laws will guide counties in setting own levies, like property, where the bill provides for valuation of properties determining of property rates.
The draft bill on public participation will be expected to provide general direction to the public participation processes in county assemblies, while the revenue administration bill will cover general administration of taxation and other laws to raise revenue.