Elijah Ntongai, a journalist at TUKO.co.ke, has more than three years of financial, business, and technology research expertise, providing insights into Kenyan and global trends. The court of appeal has struck down the Finance Act 2023 in its entirety due to procedural flaws.....CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE>>>
Okiya Omtatah Okoiti and others filed a case challenging the legality of the Finance Act 2023 in which the National Assembly and the Speaker of the National Assembly were the respondents.
The High Court ruled for Omtatah and others, and the National Assembly and the Speaker appealed the ruling in the Appellate Court.
Will Kenyans get tax refunds?
Reacting to the ruling, many Kenyans on social media questioned whether the government would refund taxes that were collected under the Finance Act 2023.
According to the Court of Appeal, the government is not required to refund the taxes because this issue was not part of the High Court’s ruling.
Additionally, the court explained that all the laws are presumed constitutional until the time they are found unconstitutional.
“The prayer seeking the refund of taxes collected under sections 18, 21, 23, 24, 26, 32, 34, 38, 44, 47, 69, 72, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 85, 86, 100, 101, and 102 of the Finance Act, No. 4 of 2023 or under any other unconstitutional section of the Finance Act, No. 4 of 2023 be accounted for and refunded to the tax payers is refused on grounds that:- (a) it was not pleaded in the Petition before the High Court, therefore it is improperly before this Court; and (b), legislative enactments enjoy presumption of constitutionality up to the moment they are found to be unconstitutional in terms of Article 165 (3) of the Constitution,” the court ruled.
Why Finance Act 2023 is unconstitutional
In an earlier report by TUKO.co.ke, the Court of Appeal found that the legislative process failed to provide sufficient opportunities for public input, a violation of constitutional mandates for public participation.
It emphasised that the National Assembly must allow the public to express their views and provide clear reasons for adopting or rejecting these proposals during the legislative process.
The judgment also pointed out that several sections of the Finance Act 2023 were introduced after the public participation phase, bypassing the proper legislative stages, a procedural lapse that further undermined the legitimacy of the law…CONTINUE READING>>
