Afrigather Nairobi — The federal government has dropped the proposed 16 % levy on bread following the Kenya Kwanza Parliamentary Group assembly chaired by President William Ruto in State Home Nairobi.
Finance and Planning Committee chairperson Kimani Kuria, in an deal with to the press, mentioned the choice was reached following a sequence of public participations wherein Kenyans unanimously rejected the brand new tax.
“We have now listened to the views of Kenyans, and we’re all in settlement that there are two issues that we should do, and considered one of them is that we have to defend Kenyans from the excessive price of dwelling, and due to this fact the proposed 16 % VAT on bread has been dropped,” mentioned Kuria.
Kuria had earlier acquired backlash from Kenyans following his assertion that the levy on bread was to protect Kenyans from the chance of diabetes.
“We had a really lengthy dialog with the Treasury. The preliminary considering was that there’s concern about diabetes.”
Treasury Cupboard Secretary Njuguna Ndung’u had earlier introduced the 2024-2025 funds to parliament, looking for to scale up taxation in its Medium-Time period Income Technique.
This focused an array of merchandise, together with edible oils, in addition to an eco-levy on all plastic merchandise.
Already, foyer teams in addition to a bit of Kenyans have staged protests within the capital, Nairobi, with a deliberate sit-in in parliament buildings forward of the tabling of the invoice on the ground of the home.
