Mnyika in Speaker’s bad book over Makonda’s tax exemption request
Kibamba Member of Parliament, John Mnyika (Chadema). Photo | Edwin Mjwahuzi
What you need to know:
Giving his ruling on the issue, the Speaker, Mr Job Ndugai said he would later give Mr Mnyika five minutes to issue evidence on the allegations.
Dodoma. Kibamba Member of Parliament, John Mnyika (Chadema) could possibly find himself in ‘hot soup’ should he fail to show proof over allegations that the government has yielded in to pressure over a tax exemption appeal by the Dar es Salaam Regional Commissioner, Mr Paul Makonda.
Last month, Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) issued a public notice giving owner of the container, shown as Mr Paul Makonda, a 30-day ultimatum to clear the consignment or risk being auctioned.
Mr Makonda reportedly appealed for a Sh1.4 billion tax exemption over the furniture he reportedly imported from the US but TRA rejected the appeal and wrote to the Finance and Planning minister Philip Mpango explaining their decision not to grant the exemption.
Dr Mpango is on record as having ruled in support of TRA’s position.
But without mentioning Mr Makonda, Mr Mnyika alleged in Parliament on Tuesday, June 5, 2018, that the Finance and Planning Minister had secretly backtracked on his earlier decision and had instead granted the tax waiver.
That did not however go down well with Dr Mpango who sought Mr Mnyika to show evidence of his allegations.
Giving his ruling on the issue, the Speaker, Mr Job Ndugai said he would later give Mr Mnyika five minutes to issue evidence on the allegations.
“The Finance Minister had asked for evidence over allegations that he had secretly backtracked over the tax exemption issue…Unfortunately, you (Mr Mnyika) have not given the evidence and you proceeded with your argument. I will give you five minutes later so you can show proof of the allegations,” said Mr Ndugai.
