New Taxes:Airtime and Data Costs to Rise From Tommorow – Kenyan Business Feed

President Uhuru Kenyatta holds the key to the enforcement of new taxes that could make bank loans, Internet access and mobile phone calls costlier from tomorrow.

The President has the option to back or reject the new taxes that MPs introduced in the government-backed Finance Bill after Parliament forwarded the Bill to State House for approval.

MPs increased excise duty on airtime and data from 15 percent to 20 percent, which will see the Treasury raise at least Sh8 billion from Safaricom , Airtel and Telkom Kenya.

This proposal was not in the Finance Bill and it remains to be seen whether the President will back the airtime tax despite the levy missing from the Treasury’s plans.

The 2021-22 financial year’s budget is expected to cement the legacy of Mr Kenyatta’s 10 years in office in a tough economic setting clouded with depressed corporate and household earnings amid uncertainties arising from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Parliament rejected the Treasury’s proposal to change the way tax on bread is calculated in a shift that would have seen bakers stopped from seeking refunds from raw materials such as electricity that attract VAT.

C/o Business Daily

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