Taxman wants Sh4.7 billion from City Hall
The Kenya Revenue Authority has demanded Sh4.7 billion in statutory deductions from the Nairobi County government.
Banks holding the government’s cash will have to remit the money owed to the taxman as agreed by the two.
Sources say the notice from the revenue authority was issued on Wednesday and City Hall lawyers held meetings to forestall the freezing of some of their accounts.
On Thursday, the taxman confirmed that they had issued a demand against the Nairobi government.
PAYMENT PLAN
“The matter is also under discussion on the best payment plan to be agreed by both parties,” said Commissioner for Domestic Taxes, Mr Benson Korongo.
While the revenue authority said the amount owed could not be revealed “due to the law which protects taxpayer’s confidentiality”, finance executive Gregory Mwakanongo said the county owed Sh4.7 billion.
This comes at a time when City Hall County Fiscal Strategy Paper, Financial Year 2017/2018 states that the debts owed to different parties by June 30, 2016 was Sh48.97 billion.
The county said some of its debts were inherited from the previous local government.
“We inherited substantial debts from the former City Council of Nairobi that has continued to pose serious liquidity problems in the county,” said Mr Mwakanongo.
Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero recently claimed that the national government owed City Hall Sh62 billion accrued from land rates.
