NAIROBI, Kenya, June 13 – PKF Kenya LLP wants some sections of the Finance Bill 2023 amended, arguing they will burden Kenyans.
The firm says that some clauses in the bill should be shot down completely as their passage will worsen the current high cost of living.
“The government is introducing too many taxes at once that are confusing citizens,” said James Mulili, a tax expert at PKF.
The firm observes that the tax burden falls heavily on employees and civil servants, who are often subjected to tax audits.
It urges that the introduction of the housing levy is an added cost to doing business in the country and thus risks scaring away investors.
Further observes that some of the clauses in the proposed Finance Bill 2023 are self-defeating.
They have taken a case with the provision in the bill that once passed requiring a 16 percent increase in insurance claims and the tax on agricultural pest control products, which they want moved from zero-rated products to exempt.
For a ‘zero-rated good’, the government doesn’t tax its sale but allows credits for the value-added tax paid on inputs.
If a good or business is “exempt,” the government doesn’t tax the sale of the good, but producers cannot claim a credit for the VAT they pay on inputs to produce it.
PKF also wants LPG, import declaration fees, and the Railway Development Levy exempt from tax.
However, it notes that not all the provisions in the proposed finance bill are bad.
It has lauded the government’s efforts in servicing its debt, observing that that will cushion the country from falling into a debt recession attributed to the depreciation of the Kenyan shilling.
“Demand for the dollar is exceedingly higher than we get. We are already in a negative situation. If we are going to continue importing rather than manufacturing, the cost is always going to increase, “stated PKF CEO Alpesh Vadher.
