No Taxation Of Freehold And Commercial Agricultural Land In Kiambu
Bunge Mashinani presenting their petition on freehold land to Kiambu County Assembly speaker Charles Thiongo in february this year
By Felix Njenga
Worth Noting:
- “We have passed that no land owner on freehold land should pay penalties dating back 8 years as per the previous law,” he said.
- He said that they also amended that the penalties to be charged for late payment of the land rate should be 10% per year down from the previous charges of 36%.
- “We agreed that the 3% per month penalty on late payments of land rates on commercial land making it 36% per annum was too high and we passed into law that Kiambu people will be paying charges at 10% per annum,” he said.
- The assembly also repealed Section 45 of the Act which gave Finance executive powers to sell land through auction or a private treaty if one fails to pay land rates.
The County Assembly of Kiambu has unanimously passed law barring taxation of freehold and commercial agricultural land in the area.
Freehold land had been subjected to tax due to the Kiambu County Valuation and Rating Act, passed in 2016, which stated that all freehold land in Kiambu is ratable.
The Committee on County Planning and Urbanization tabled its report which included the amendments that proposed to repeal sections of the Act outlining the levying of land rates on agricultural land. Further, the Bill also proposed waivers on the land rates and penalties that land owners have been subjected to for the last 8 years.
According to Peter Wainana, MCA Karuri Ward who moved the amendments and presented the report on behalf of the committee said that they considered the concerns of land owners in Kiambu county who had even presented a petition to the Assembly to repeal the law since it was punitive and unanimously removed the clauses which had made their lands be ratable.
“As an Assembly we have unanimously repealed the Valuation Act 2016 which saw the freehold land being ratable,” Wainaina said.
He said that they ammended a clause which saw land owners pay arrears dating 8 years back for lack of rates payments.
“We have passed that no land owner on freehold land should pay penalties dating back 8 years as per the previous law,” he said.
He said that they also amended that the penalties to be charged for late payment of the land rate should be 10% per year down from the previous charges of 36%.
“We agreed that the 3% per month penalty on late payments of land rates on commercial land making it 36% per annum was too high and we passed into law that Kiambu people will be paying charges at 10% per annum,” he said.
The assembly also repealed Section 45 of the Act which gave Finance executive powers to sell land through auction or a private treaty if one fails to pay land rates.
The Assembly was divided and differed on amended of the clause which had been proposed to have commercial farming covering an acreage of five acres and above be ratable which those in opposition said that the term commercial farming had not been well define and will be used to exploit farmers and would face double taxation of their land and also products.
The committee on Planning relooked into the clause and unanimously passed that the wording commercial farming be removed to be part of the bill. The assembly was in agreement and commercial farming was removed from the bill where Kiambu residents in commercial farming will not be taxed.
Joe Kigara MCA Ngenda Ward and the assembly minority leader said that the Assembly worked in autonomy to pass a law which is in the interest of Kiambu people.
“With the wisdom of the Assembly Members, we have looked into the 2015 Valuation Act and we have looked into and we have since amended the clauses which were punitive to kiambu land owners,” Kigara said.
He told Kiambu residents that their lands are free and nobody will charge them penalties as it has been scrapped off and nobody will sell their land for lack of rates payments as it has been scrapped off.
Godfrey Mucheke MCA Kalimoni Ward and Leader of the Majority said that now that the assembly has repealed the law it should be a wake up call for the national assembly to relook into the law and also scrap the punitive tax imposed on freehold lands at the national level.
“As the Assembly members we consulted widely which looked like we were differing amongst ourselves as leaders but we have come to a consensus and have given Kiambu people what they deserve and that is freeing their lands from taxes,” he said.
Kennedy Odhiambo MCA Kahawa Sukari ward said that most of the kiambu land was passed on through inheritance and was gotten through bloodshed during the fighting for independence of the country and it was a shame and punitive for the government to tax and take by force the lands from their owners.
“Kiambu people have a right to their lands and imposing tax on lands which do not earn anything and then take away their lands for non payment of rates is a cruel law. I am glad that we have removed all these punitive laws and now Kiambu residents’ lands are free from those rates,” Odhiambo said.
Charles Thiongo, Speaker Kiambu Assembly said that the agricultural lands have now been freed from being taxed by the government.
‘The assembly listened to the concerns of Kiambu residents on agricultural lands and now they will no longer be charged rates on their lands. The backdated penalties have also been scrapped off and residents will not be compelled to pay,” he said.
However Eric Mutura, speaker of the Bunge Mashinani lobby which had gone round Kiambu county to collect signatures to present a petition to compel the assembly to repeal the valuation Act 2015 said that the Kiambu citizens freehold land owners can now rest easy.
“Bunge Mashinani initiative, thank the Kiambu residents for the show of unity which culminated in pressure on the county government to amend the Valuation and Rating Act of 2016. although the residents had pushed for the repeal of the Act we are content for now,” Mutura said.
Mutura called on the county government to put into consideration allocating 1% of the county budget to Civic Education as it had been demanded in the petition.
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