Policy Note · How a tax statute is read
In a taxing Act, nothing is read in and nothing is implied; the words are the limit of the charge.
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A taxing provision is read for what it clearly says, with nothing read in, nothing implied and no presumption either way. A charge reaches only what the section describes, and where the authority needs to read a transaction into a provision it has, by that need, shown the provision does not cover it.
A new rate or rule binds transactions that come after it and is not applied backwards, so a liability follows the law in force when the transaction was completed, not a later change. A gap in a statute is mended by Parliament, not closed by reinterpretation in an assessment.
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Precursor is published by the FinTech Association of Kenya and exercises independent editorial judgement under the Editorial Independence Charter. This article is labelled Precursor Executive Classroom, which marks commercial material. Knowledge on Tax and financial judgement.
Lecture 126 · A director kept meeting the taxman instead of appealing, and four years on the bill had only grown.
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Tax and financial judgement · 4 min read · Paid
Lecture 125 · A rice importer called cleaning and repacking manufacturing, and the court said packaging is not making.
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Tax and financial judgement · 4 min read · Paid
Lecture 124 · A contractor said the money was his clients', had no agreements to show it, and the assessment stood.
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Tax and financial judgement · 4 min read · Paid