Tax queries threaten Tiya Galgalo's appointment to NLC

Former Isiolo Woman Representative Tiya Galgalo’s approval as a member of the National Land Commission (NLC) hangs in the balance after the taxman confirmed she had not filed her tax compliance returns for 2017 and 2018.

One is required to have cleared with the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) before they are appointed to any government position in line with the Leadership and Integrity Act.

KRA Commissioner General James Mburu appeared before the National Assembly Committee on Lands that vetted Ms Galgalo for the position on Friday and promised that by Wednesday next week he will have established how a tax compliance certificate was irregularly issued to Ms Galgalo despite not filing her income returns.

NIL RETURNS

The KRA finding will be critical to the committee chaired by Kitui South MP Rachael Nyamai.

Just before the August 8, 2017 elections, Ms Galgalo was an employee of the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC).

In 2018, she was appointed as an executive in the Isiolo County government, a position she holds to date.

According to the KRA boss, Ms Galgalo was contacted for an explanation on why her returns had not been filed for two years.

Mr Mburu said when she received the news, she filed nil returns on the same day, meaning there was no income declared despite being in gainful employment.

DETAILS CHANGED

Mr Mburu notes that as the authority was validating her returns on Wednesday, Ms Galgalo went ahead and amended the returns she had filed to reflect an income of Sh8.35 million from the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC) and Sh3.13 million from the county government.

“We need to go back to the records of PSC and the Isiolo county … we also need to see whether there was any other income because it is not just employment income,” Mr Mburu told the members.

Mr Alister Murimi Mutugi and Ms Hubbie Hussein Al-Haj, a relative of the Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji and Garissa Senator Yusuf Haji, were also vetted Friday.