Kenya’s new tax package angers some backers of president who once vowed to reduce cost of living

They were charged with committing crimes against humanity; the charges included allegations that Kenyatta had helped mobilize and fund the Mungiki, a Kikuyu criminal gang, in the group’s attacks on Odinga’s supporters in the aftermath of the disputed election. Shortly after the charges were announced, Kenyatta resigned as minister of finance but remained in his post as deputy prime minister. In https://turbo-tax.org/president-kenyatta-signs-tax-laws/ preparation for the 2017 elections, the parties that constituted Kenyatta’s Jubilee Coalition dissolved and then re-formed as one political organization, the Jubilee Party, in September 2016. Kenyatta was the flag bearer for the new party, with Ruto again serving as his running mate. In the August 8, 2017, presidential election, Kenyatta was reelected with more than 54 percent of the vote.

Effectively, Energy Regulatory Commission  is expected with immediate effect ro revise the VAT applied on petroleum products to 8 per cent. It eventually did bring the 20% stake tax back with this year’s finance bill, when it was first presented to Parliament in May. The former parliamentary aspirant predicted all 17 games correctly to become only the fourth Kenyan to win the Mega jackpot, after Samuel Abisai won Sh221 Million (USD 2.21 Million) in May last year, while three other winners shared Sh115 million (USD 1.15 Million) a month later. Korir promised to share his winnings with two other friends who predicted five games apiece while he tried his luck with the remaining seven, although that remains to be seen given the radical nature of the revised taxes. Through expanding the net tax on winnings, the government hopes to raise Sh25 billion (USD 250 Million) from the current Sh8.7 Billion (USD 87 Million) collected from the gaming industry.

Uhuru Kenyatta

“Our position remains that the Bill is a mistake and an experiment Kenyans can ill afford,” Odinga’s spokesman stated. Income tax rates have increased from the existing 30% to 32.5% for individuals making Ksh500,000 ($3,600) per month and to 35% for those making Ksh800,000 ($5,700). According to the presidency, Kenyan President William Ruto signed https://turbo-tax.org/ a bill raising taxes on a variety of goods into law on Monday, ignoring claims that doing so would put the country’s residents through even more suffering. Yields on the local government debt market have however held steady mainly due to a cap on commercial lending rates, which market participants said was putting a lid on the yields.

While seeking election, he accused former President Uhuru Kenyatta of letting food costs “skyrocket because he has never slept without food in his life, as he was born in a wealthy family.” “They are essentially telling us to shut down, because we will not take loans to pay taxes,” said Moses Munyao, a wholesale shop owner in the capital, Nairobi. Small businesses are also being hit, with a tax on their total sales increasing from 1% to 3%. Businesspeople said this will kill the already struggling small enterprises that have been reporting losses since the COVID-19 pandemic started. Teresia Kathina, a civil servant for 26 years, said it will be the highest employees have ever paid in taxes. Prices are higher than they were before elections,” hairdresser Evelyne Adhiambo said.

Kenya’s Ruto signs contentious tax bill into law

The new tax law amends several statutes to cushion the economy and Kenyans against the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic as announced by the Head of State. One of the most contentious provisions is a 1.5 percent levy on the salaries of all tax-paying Kenyans to fund an affordable housing program. Kenya’s public debt mountain has grown to about $70 billion, or 67% of its GDP, and repayment expenses have increased as the shilling drops to historic lows of approximately 140 to the dollar. This move by Dr. Ruto is likely another attempt to replenish the government’s exhausted finances and restore a deeply indebted economy which he inherited from his predecessor Uhuru Kenyatta, who lavished money on large infrastructure projects.

• The amendments, which were criticized by NASA and others, included measures such as limiting the judiciary’s ability to void an election and allowing a candidate to automatically be declared the winner of a contested post if the other candidate withdrew from an election.
• Businesspeople said this will kill the already struggling small enterprises that have been reporting losses since the COVID-19 pandemic started.
• He as such owes the taxman a staggering Sh41.6 Million (USD 416,000) in fulfillment of his tax obligations as per the newly passed laws.
• In 2020, though, the Finance Committee proposed lowering the rate, noting that tax revenue had actually decreased because of the onerous taxes.

Citing what he deemed irregularities with the election, he filed a challenge to the results with Kenya’s Supreme Court. Kenyatta’s political profile rose considerably in October 2001, when he was nominated by President Moi to fill a parliament seat; Moi then elevated him to the cabinet as minister for local government a month later. Moi’s machinations backfired, however, as some KANU members bristled at the lack of debate within the party regarding Kenyatta’s selection as Moi’s successor, and they left KANU to support opposition leader Mwai Kibaki, who handily defeated Kenyatta in elections held in December 2002. In furtherance of his political support for Kibaki’s PNU at the time, he was accused of organising a Kikuyu politico-religious group, the Mungiki, in the post-election violence. Overall, the post-election violence of 2007 is said to have claimed about 1300 lives. On 8 March 2011, while serving as minister in Kibaki’s government, he was indicted after being summoned to appear before the ICC pre-trial chamber.

President Kenyatta signs 10 parliamentary bills into law

The other formidable coalition was the Coalition For Reform and Democracy (CORD), led by Raila Odinga. In the nomination process in 2002 in what was widely thought as undemocratic and underhand, Moi influenced Uhuru Kenyatta’s nomination as KANU’s preferred presidential candidate, sparking an outcry from other interested contenders and a massive exit from the party ensued. This move by the late President Moi was seen as a ploy to install Uhuru as a puppet so that even in retirement, Moi would still rule the country through Uhuru and presumably insulate himself against the numerous charges of abuse of office that plagued his presidency. Nairobi, Kenya – President Uhuru Kenyatta has signed into law, the tax laws (amendment) Bill, 2020.

• The successful election of TNA’s main candidates (Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto) continued to enhance TNA’s viability.
• AllAfrica publishes around 600 reports a day from more than 100 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic.
• Meanwhile, Kenyatta’s Jubilee Party quickly passed a bill with two controversial election-related amendments in the National Assembly and sent it to Kenyatta to sign into law.
• Parliament voted last month to delay it for another two years, but President Uhuru Kenyatta returned the bill to lawmakers with the suggestion they cut it to 8 percent instead.
• He appointed Kenyatta to chair the Kenya Tourist Board in 1999, and the following year Kenyatta was given the additional task of chairing the Disaster Emergency Response Committee.
• However, Kenyans have escaped further taxation after Members of Parliament rejected new taxes on bread and boda boda.

He also assumed some responsibility for managing his family’s extensive business holdings. Uhuru Kenyatta, in full Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta, (born October 26, 1961, Nairobi, Kenya), Kenyan businessman and politician who held several government posts before serving as president of Kenya from 2013 to 2022. It continued, “The notable increase in CGT rate could potentially slow down investment and transactions in several sectors, including as real estate.” We’ll be in touch with the latest information on how President Biden and his administration are working for the American people, as well as ways you can get involved and help our country build back better.

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Meanwhile, Kenyatta’s Jubilee Party quickly passed a bill with two controversial election-related amendments in the National Assembly and sent it to Kenyatta to sign into law. The amendments, which were criticized by NASA and others, included measures such as limiting the judiciary’s ability to void an election and allowing a candidate to automatically be declared the winner of a contested post if the other candidate withdrew from an election. Although Kenyatta never signed the amendments bill, it automatically became law in November. In 1997 he was chair of a local branch of the Kenya African National Union (KANU)—the longtime ruling party that his father had once led—and later that year ran unsuccessfully for a parliamentary seat.

• Early this year, the opposition organized a number of anti-government demonstrations about the rising expense of living, some of which became fatal as police and protesters clashed in the streets.
• The Amendment Bill was published on 30th March 2020 to include the amended Kenya tax laws.
• The defense claimed that there was not a strong enough case against him and that the charges should be dropped, while the prosecution complained of a lack of cooperation from Kenyan officials in gathering evidence.