The government has announced that several proposals will be scrapped off from the Finance Bill 2024 after kenyans declared protests against the bill.
Speaking after the Kenya Kwanza Parliamentary group meeting at Statehouse, Finance Committee Chair Kimani Kuria said that the government has heard the feedback by kenyans and scrapped off some of the controversial taxes.
Kuria clarified that the proposed Eco Levy would only apply to imported finished products, exempting those manufactured within Kenya adding that diapers and sanitary towels produced domestically would not be subject to this levy.
According to the Finance Committee Chairman, the government will also be aiming to reduce the cost of living by removing the proposed increase in tax on mobile transactions from the bill.
In addition, he proposed 16% VAT on bread that was proposed has been dropped from the bill. In the Turnover Tax, VAT threshold to be increased from 5m to 8m. SMEs that have a turnover of less than 8m will not be required to register for VAT.
Small scale avocado farmers will now be exempted from eTIMS registration and only businesses with a turnover of below 1M will be exempted from the controversial eTims registration.
Alcohol manufacturers producing alcohol with very high alcohol content will be required to pay higher duty based on alcohol content, changing it from a volume-based taxation.
The controversial motoemr vehicle tax has also been dropped after the meeting with the President. It’s also a win for sugarcane farmers as VAT on transporting sugarcane from the farms to the milling factories has been dropped.
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However, despite the latest removal of several proposals from Finance bill 2024, Nairobi CBD is in chaos as kenyans demand total rejection of the Finance Bill 2024 claiming it’s impunitive to all kenyans.