Caroli Omondi, MP for Suba South, will pay the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) Sh44.7 million after the tax appeals panel dismissed his bid to challenge the claim.
According to the KRA, the legislator purchased a property worth Sh150 million in July 2018 through a business called Bukeri Holdings Ltd, however the company filed no reports in 2018 or 2019. The MP objected to the demand, stating that KRA was collecting the money from him rather than the company, despite the fact that it possessed its PIN. His motion was denied because the tribunal stated that he was given the opportunity to present papers supporting his objection but did not do so.
“The tribunal, therefore, finds that the appellant is guilty of failing to file his notice of objection within the specified time and that the respondent was correct to dismiss the appellant’s objection as time-barred,” stated the panel, chaired by Robert Mutuma.
The tribunal heard evidence that it discovered a transaction in capital gains tax data showing that Bukeri Holdings Ltd had purchased the property.
The KRA discovered that Mr Omondi was the company’s largest stakeholder, controlling 99 percent of the equity. The taxman then presumed that the company was either not trading or had no income, and that the property transaction could only be supported by a loan facility or a director’s capital injection.