Finance Bill 2024: More Pain For Kenyans As New Taxes Are Proposed On Bread, Mobile Money Services

• New taxes and hikes have been proposed in the Finance Bill 2024, which is scheduled for the first reading in the National Assembly later this month
• The taxes touched on goods and services used by the Kenyan commoners as the government seeks more revenue to fund its 2024/25 budget
• Ordinary bread which was among the zero-rated items would cost more following the imposition of a 16% VAT

Kai Eli, a journalist at TUKO.co.ke, brings more than three years of experience covering politics and current affairs in Kenya.

Nairobi: The Exchequer has proposed a raft of taxes in the Finance Bill 2024 as the Kenya Kwanza government aims to raise more revenue for its budget in the 2024/25 fiscal year.

Ordinary bread, which was on the list of zero-rated household commodities, would have a 16% VAT imposed on it.

List of taxes in Finance Bill 2024

With the foregoing, the price of a 400-gram loaf would be inflated by at least KSh 10.

Further, mobile money transfer services are set to rise after the hike of the excise duty from 15% to 20%.

Kenyans would shoulder more tax burden as banking services also leave the VAT-exempt list.

The government also tapped on the roads to net in more money to fund its KSh 4.2 trillion budget; a motor vehicle circulation tax has been proposed in the bill.

Depending on factors like a vehicle's engine and model, owners will cough up between KSh 5,000 and KSh 100,000 as motor vehicle tax should the bill be adopted and become law.

The tax would be paid at the point of the motor vehicle owners acquiring their insurance covers.

Reprieve is, however on ambulance owners and government and diplomatic corps, who will not be subjected to the foregoing tax.

How much does William Ruto want to raise in taxes?

The government will also be seeking to pay itself by imposing more taxes on the levies imposed on the payments it releases for tenders and supplies.

Levies on motorcycle imports and betting were not spared from the tax measures in the bill that is likely to be contentious in parliament.

Summarily, the President William Ruto-led administration seeks to raise at least KSh 2.94 trillion in taxes in the fiscal year beginning July this year and ending June, 2025.

The new tax measures did not sit well with a majority of Kenyans, who argued the new regimes introduced in every fiscal year was hampering planning for businesses.

Members of the National Assembly will be receiving the bill for review in its first reading as it goes through the legislation process before Ruto's assent.

Expected in parliament are heated deliberations as the opposition MPs take on their counterparts aligned with the regime.

Kenyans would, however, have the platform during the public participation fora to air their concerns and feelings about the proposals in the bill.

Proofreading by Otukho Jackson, a multimedia journalist and copy editor at TUKO.co.ke