INFLUENCE OF TAX COMPLIANCE COST ON HOSTEL OWNERS’ COMPLIANCE TO RENTAL INCOME TAX IN LAIKIPIA WEST SUB COUNTY, KENYA

The Government of Kenya through the Finance Act 2015 introduced a simplified rental income tax. This is a monthly tax payable by a resident person for rental income earned from use or occupation of residential property. Upon the gazettement of the Income Tax (Residential Rental Income Tax) Regulations, 2016, the Kenya Revenue Authority embarked on an aggressive campaign to enlist landlords into the Monthly Rental Income Tax regime. However, the Economic Survey 2021 showed that the country’s revenue collecting agency KRA was not able to meet revenue targets as set by the National Treasury. Comparison of National Government Budget Estimates with Actual Out – turns for the fiscal years 2017/2018 and 2018/2019 showed that KRA missed the Budgeted Ordinary Revenue targets by Kshs.128.7 Billion and Kshs.90.1 Billion respectively. Property taxes including rental income tax are part of the ordinary revenue collected by the tax authority. The objective of the study was to investigate the influence of tax compliance cost on hostel owners’ compliance to the monthly rental income tax in Laikipia West Sub County. Quantitative data was collected using questionnaires. A census of the entire population of hostels was used to collect the required data. The collected data was analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The study established that an increase in tax compliance cost discourages compliance behavior since taxpayers tend to evade the costs either by under-declaring their monthly rental incomes or not declaring any income at all. The study recommends that KRA should scale up the tax payer education and awareness programs to ensure that more landlords are trained on how to file their own returns without having to use tax agents who make the process costly leading to non-compliance.JEL: H25, H26  Article visualizations

INFLUENCE OF CAPITAL STRUCTURE ON PROFITABILITY OF GOVERNMENT BASED DEPOSIT TAKING SAVINGS AND CREDIT CO-OPERATIVES IN KENYA

This study paper examines the influence of capital structure on the profitability of government based deposit taking savings and credit co-operatives in Kenya. The data used in the study was collected from the Annual Report and Financial Statements of nineteen (19) out of twenty nine (29) licensed government based Saccos covering a five (5) year period between 2013 and 2017. Thus a data set comprising of ninety five (95) observations was derived from the data collection exercise. Measure of Sacco profitability was through the use of the Return on Assets whereas capital structure was proxied through the debt to equity ratio and the debt to assets ratio. A descriptive research design was used in testing the hypotheses. Results of this study indicated that that capital structure as proxied using the Debt/ Equity Ratio and the Debt/Assets Ratio had a negative insignificant effect on profitability of Saccos measured using the ROA. The study recommended that that Deposit Taking Saccos’ Board and Managements should endeavour to maintain an appropriate mix of equity and debt that maximize Sacco membership return and wealth. JEL: G21, E51  Article visualizations

Patterns of Prescribing Practices in Makueni County Referral Hospital, Kenya

Background: Prescribing is said to be irrational if it does not conform to good standards of treatment. Irrational prescribing leads to increased cost of drug therapy, increased risk for adverse drug reactions and emergence of drug resistance. Objective: The study objective was to determine the quality and patterns of prescribing in Makueni County Referral Hospital, Kenya, using World Health Organization prescribing indicators. Methodology: The design was a descriptive retrospective cross-sectional study. Data was abstracted from 824 patient encounters selected through quasi-random sampling. Data was collected from the sampled prescriptions using a pre-tested data collection form, entered into and analyzed using Stata version 10.0 software. Results: The mean number of drugs per patient encounter was 2.7. Only 45.5% of the total drugs were prescribed using generic names. Antibiotics and injections were prescribed in 74% and 13.2% of the prescriptions surveyed respectively. Discussion: On average, inpatients received a higher number of drugs per encounter compared to outpatients, probably because they usually have more severe disease than outpatients which may require management with more drugs. Conclusion: The results showed a trend towards irrational prescribing, particularly polypharmacy, underuse of generic names and over-prescription of antibiotics. Relevant educational, managerial and regulatory interventions are recommended to remedy the problems. Keywords: Irrational prescribing, prescribing indicators, polypharmac

Biophysical interactions in tropical agroforestry systems

sequential systems, simultaneous systems Abstract. The rate and extent to which biophysical resources are captured and utilized by the components of an agroforestry system are determined by the nature and intensity of interac-tions between the components. The net effect of these interactions is often determined by the influence of the tree component on the other component(s) and/or on the overall system, and is expressed in terms of such quantifiable responses as soil fertility changes, microclimate modification, resource (water, nutrients, and light) availability and utilization, pest and disease incidence, and allelopathy. The paper reviews such manifestations of biophysical interactions in major simultaneous (e.g., hedgerow intercropping and trees on croplands) and sequential (e.g., planted tree fallows) agroforestry systems. In hedgerow intercropping (HI), the hedge/crop interactions are dominated by soil fertility improvement and competition for growth resources. Higher crop yields in HI than in sole cropping are noted mostly in inherently fertile soils in humid and subhumid tropics, and are caused by large fertility improvement relative to the effects of competition. But, yield increases are rare in semiarid tropics and infertile acid soils because fertility improvement does not offse

Factors Associated with Revision Surgery after Internal Fixation of Hip Fractures

Background: Femoral neck fractures are associated with high rates of revision surgery after management with internal fixation. Using data from the Fixation using Alternative Implants for the Treatment of Hip fractures (FAITH) trial evaluating methods of internal fixation in patients with femoral neck fractures, we investigated associations between baseline and surgical factors and the need for revision surgery to promote healing, relieve pain, treat infection or improve function over 24 months postsurgery. Additionally, we investigated factors associated with (1) hardware removal and (2) implant exchange from cancellous screws (CS) or sliding hip screw (SHS) to total hip arthroplasty, hemiarthroplasty, or another internal fixation device. Methods: We identified 15 potential factors a priori that may be associated with revision surgery, 7 with hardware removal, and 14 with implant exchange. We used multivariable Cox proportional hazards analyses in our investigation. Results: Factors associated with increased risk of revision surgery included: female sex, [hazard ratio (HR) 1.79, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.25-2.50; P = 0.001], higher body mass index (fo

Education for all in Kenya since the world conference : a review of initiatives following the Jomtien recommendations of March 1990

Project number related to IDRC support could not be determinedMissing p.11

Spatial variability in soil chemical properties under Dactyladenia barteri, Alchomea cordifolia, Senna siamea, and Gmelina arborea hedgerows on an acid Ultisol

Spatial nutrient distribution was studied under a three-and-a-half-year-old fallow of Dactyladenia barteri, Alchornea cordifolia, Senna siamea and Gmelina arborea hedgerows grown on an acid Ultisol in southeastern Nigeria. The objectives were to evaluate the nutrient cycling capacity and suitability of the hedgerow species for alley cropping. No consistent patterns were observed in the lateral distribution of soil pH, total nitrogen, organic carbon, available phosphorus, exchangeable cations (potassium, calcium, magnesium and sodium), total acidity and effective cation exchange capacity in the 4 m wide alleys formed between the hedgerow species. Senna siamea and Gmelina arborea tended to increase soil organic carbon, calcium, magnesium and effective cation exchange capacity, particularly in the top 50 cm, compared with Alchornea cordifolia and Dactyladenia barteri, and can therefore be recommended for soil fertility regeneration on acid Ultisols during periods of fallow. However, they appear to be less suitable for alley cropping than Dactyladenia barteri because they are shallow rooting

Soil constraints for sustainable upland crop production in humid and subhumid West Africa

Major upland soils in the humid and sub humid zones of West Africa consist of low activity clays (LAC) Alfisols, Ultisols and Oxisols. Alfisols which are less leached and have a high base saturation are more dominant in the sub-humid zone. Chemically they are more fertile, but they have a low structural stability. The Ultisols/Oxisols which are more prevalent in the humid zone, are less fertile, with major nutrient and acidity constraints. The major constraints on sustainable crop production on these soils, can be removed by proper seedbed and residue management, and by judicious fertilizer application and by liming amendments. These measures are needed to ensure the maintenance of adequate chemical, physical and biological fertility of the soils. Prototype technology research in West Africa that seeks to improve productivity and sustainability on these LAC soils has shown, that minimum tillage and/or alley-cropping are promising technologies for managing these soils. Further research is still needed to refine these systems and to identify alternative systems for the region