Kenya is considering tax relief measures to attract reluctant investors from the West. This week, Nairobi rolled out the red carpet for American investors even as the US government complained that corruption and lack of a transparent tax policy were discouraging interest in Kenya. These issues emerged at the summit of the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Nairobi, where President William Ruto was among key speakers. My government is finalising new tax policy guidelines that have gone through various stakeholder consultations, including inputs from AmCham. This policy that will enhance transparency in our tax regime will take effect by June and will be in place for a minimum of three years, President Ruto said. He also revealed a plan by the government to scrap a 1.5 percent levy on digital services for the contentious global framework proposed by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on taxing multinationals that includes a minimum rate of 15 percent. While Kenya had been opposed to the framework proposing a 15 percent minimum tax rate on global firms, President Ruto has expressed a change in tone, which will see Kenya sign up to OECD pact ahead of its implementation on January 1, 2024. The new two-pillar plan aims to reform international taxation rules and ensure that multinational enterprises pay a fair share of tax wherever they operate. Under the former administration of President Uhuru Kenyatta, Kenya withheld its backing for the global minimum tax rate, which would have seen the government pause collection of the digital services tax, currently charged at 1.5 percent of sales made, from tech giants such as Google, Facebook and Amazon. The Joe Biden administration also cited the high debt and high cost of cargo clearance at the Port of Mombasa. Kenya, like many developing countries, is burdened with high debt, limiting its ability to fund public services and infrastructure in line with its ambitions, said Whitman. Another issue I often hear about is cargo clearance. Despite improving logistics infrastructure, the delivered cost of a container shipment to Kenya does remain significantly higher than for container shipments landing in Europe or Asia. Kenya says it has improved clearance time for imports at the Port of Mombasa from over 11 days in 2010 to 3.5 days in 2022 despite cargo consistently increasing over the past five years, from 27 million metric tonnes in 2016 to nearly 35 million metric tonnes in 2021. Another key tax area that the Biden administration wants addressed is the VAT on exported services, which President Ruto promised to fix. This tax not only renders us uncompetitive, but it also inhibits investors seeking to make Kenya their regional or global services hub. Many companies are already operating out of Kenya and serving regional markets. Following consultations with stakeholders, VAT on exported services will now be removed in the Finance Bill, in the coming budget, in June this year, said Ruto. We are also reviewing our Special Economic Zones and Export Processing Zones laws to remove impediments to attracting new local and foreign investments. The rafts of amendments are under stakeholder consultations and will be in place by July 1. President Ruto also addressed the National ICT Policy, which requires Foreign ICT entities that set up in Kenya to have a 30 per cent domestic equity, a position he said was untenable and has made it impossible for large corporations to invest in Kenya. We will review this position and remove this requirement to facilitate greater investment in our ICT sector. Kenya is now banking on a series of roadshows and meetings in the United States to lure American investors into the country. The Investments, Trade, and Industry ministry also plans to use the events to deepen bilateral ties with the US, by exploring new areas of collaboration in investment, trade, security, and other areas of mutual interest. Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria is leading a Kenyan delegation which left on Saturday, to a Bilateral Strategic Dialogue in Washington, D.C., as well as a trade and investment road show in New York, both of which will sell investment prospects to American investors. Themed Why Kenya, Why Africa, the roadshow will seek to highlight the potential of investment opportunities in Kenya and Africa, as well as the conducive business environment tailored for investors. This will be the second time in less than four months that the CS is leading a delegation to US, as the two countries look to trade under the new Strategic Trade and Investment Partnership. According to Kuria, the Kenyan delegation at the Bilateral Strategic Dialogue in Washington D.C will engage their American counterparts on five key areas namely; economic prosperity, health, democracy and governance, defence cooperation, regional and multilateral issues and long- term trade relations. Kenya as a gateway to Africa and Africa as a whole offers tremendous potential for American investors and looks forward to showcasing this potential, said Kuria. The trade and investment roadshow in New York will involve presentations by US government officials, their Kenyan counterparts, and various sector players and investors, as well as networking events and other organised meetings. According to Kuria, Kenya will leverage the New York Road show and the Washington talks to pitch and invite American investors to the three-day Kenya International Investment Conference (KIICO 2023), to be held in Nairobi, between May 29 and 31. Among the key issues to be discussed will include partnership in the commercialisation of biotech seeds and crops, following Kenyas decision to lift the ban on cultivation and importation of genetically modified crops, the ministry said in a statement. Based on the above, answer the following questions. a) Assuming you are an international business expert; what is your overall opinion of this scenario? (5 marks) b) Using theories covered in this course, explain the various aspects seen in this case example. Support your theories with narration from the case and give further examples outside the case to support your answer. Be as practical as possible (12marks) c) What advise would you give the leadership on the issues discussed? (3