Free, compulsory education: 'ECP requires at least one more month'

LAHORE, October 30th: The Education Commission Punjab (ECP) tasked with working on legislation for the implementation of Article 25-A, which makes free and compulsory education a right for children aged 5 to 16, is hoping to present its recommendations in a month.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Schools Education Department Deputy Secretary Qaiser Rasheed said the commission would require at least another month to bring forth a set of recommendations for the implementation of Article 25-A. He said the matter required intense deliberation. ?We have to look in depth at the issues at hand for the provision of compulsory education and the resources at our disposal. It is not as easy,? he said.

Rasheed, who is also serving as secretary to the Finance Committee of the Education Commission, said it was essential that all gaps be addressed by the commission. Last week, the commission had been forwarded the recommendations of the Finance Committee (Resource Allocation Committee), said Rasheed who is tasked with provision of estimates for ensuring enrollment and retention in schools.

He said the Finance Committee had proposed that the existing infrastructure be put to use to facilitate the government in implementing Article 25-A, which also included upgradation of schools.

The commission had been expected to provide its recommendations in September, but at the very first meeting on August 2, its members raised concerns over the deadline.

Chaudhry Javed Ahmad, the chairman of the Standing Committee on Education and member of the Punjab Committee on Consultation with Stakeholders and Public Hearings in the Education Commission, had also expressed doubts that the commission could meet the deadline.

Chaired by Justice (retired) Khalilur Rahman Ramday, the commission was constituted earlier in July through a notification by the School Education Department. The commission consists of five sub-committees on resource allocation, schools education, private education, legal matters and public hearing and consultation with stakeholders and 20 members include the Education minister and secretaries of seven departments.

The commission?s terms of reference (TORs) state that it shall develop an enforcement mechanism for the provision of free and compulsory education under Article 25-A. It will also seek to ensure 100 per cent enrollment and 100 per cent retention in schools, private sector?s role in the provision of compulsory education, focus on early childhood education and also ensure universal birth registration.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 30th, 2012.

Source: http://pakistan.childrightsdesk.com/?p=23586

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KRA: Only appointed agents to handle tax - In2EastAfrica - East ...

All payments of taxes will be restricted to appointed agent banks only starting from Wednesday.

Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) ? mandated to collect taxes from employees, employers, businesses, corporates, and others ? says the move is meant to enhance service provision to taxpayers.

?KRA will appoint more agent banks and update the list in the KRA website, including relevant details and specific tax types to be credited to those accounts,? the taxman said in a public notice.

The current list of appointed agent banks authorised to receive tax payments on behalf of KRA are Central Bank of Kenya,? the Kenya Commercial Bank, National Bank of Kenya, Co-operative Bank of Kenya, and Equity Bank.

KRA, which usually collects through several methods, receives taxes from either its cash offices or? agent banks.

Methods used by the tax collection agency are divided into five categories including pay-as-you-earn tax (Paye), on payments to employees, and withholding tax on incomes like dividends, professional fees, and interest.

Others are Advance Tax, which applies to Kenyans who have Public Service Vehicles (like matatus) and commercial vehicles, and Installment Tax, which applies to individuals and corporate bodies. The latter applies to where the tax is not fully collected at source through Paye, and where individual?s final tax liability exceeds Sh40,000 for the year.

Another method is Turnover Tax (TOT), which is usually paid by taxpayers who are registered for TOT at the rate of three per cent on gross sales per year.

Meanwhile, KRA moved to enforce payment of rental income tax with an appeal to all tenants (individuals and institutions) to support and champion the initiative to enhance compliance among the rental income earners.

Details

The taxman said tenants are required to furnish KRA with details of their landlords, in accordance to Section 59 of the Income Tax Act 470 of the Laws of Kenya.

?The information will be used in confirmation and validation of details in our possession,? it said in a notice on Tuesday.

Among the details required from the tenants are name of landlord, land reference numbers, and location of the property, rent per month, bank account, and name of the bank and branch.

During the Budget in June, Finance Minister Njeru Githae, announced that KRA would start levying taxes on landlords.

The taxation of rental incomes is part of KRA?s effort to meet the high revenue collection targets set by the Treasury to finance the Sh1.45 trillion national Budget.

KRA estimates that landlords constitute the single largest group of business people whose income is untaxed, and plans to raise Sh90 billion in the current financial year through the proposed measures. The rental tax will be paid by all landlords earning more than Sh10,000 per month from rent, and graduated according to the Pay as You Earn scale.

By John Oyuke, The Standard

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Source: http://in2eastafrica.net/kra-only-appointed-agents-to-handle-tax/

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