Berliner Boersenzeitung - Kenya reintroduces tax reforms with new deputy president

EUR -
AED 3.849071
AFN 71.56307
ALL 98.465648
AMD 409.468215
ANG 1.893231
AOA 955.718831
ARS 1054.749619
AUD 1.614472
AWG 1.886288
AZN 1.782519
BAM 1.960492
BBD 2.120976
BDT 125.530419
BGN 1.955562
BHD 0.394986
BIF 3103.196944
BMD 1.047938
BND 1.415574
BOB 7.285435
BRL 6.079039
BSD 1.050514
BTN 88.559806
BWP 14.350343
BYN 3.437727
BYR 20539.583235
BZD 2.117468
CAD 1.478023
CDF 3007.581455
CHF 0.929259
CLF 0.037074
CLP 1022.998268
CNY 7.586809
CNH 7.612525
COP 4594.945795
CRC 535.319825
CUC 1.047938
CUP 27.770355
CVE 110.527404
CZK 25.320383
DJF 187.057666
DKK 7.458693
DOP 63.30425
DZD 140.071563
EGP 51.976684
ERN 15.719069
ETB 130.985724
FJD 2.385055
FKP 0.827155
GBP 0.834903
GEL 2.860704
GGP 0.827155
GHS 16.544594
GIP 0.827155
GMD 74.40381
GNF 9052.578203
GTQ 8.111179
GYD 219.775967
HKD 8.155697
HNL 26.545275
HRK 7.475213
HTG 137.878655
HUF 410.760113
IDR 16678.246381
ILS 3.821337
IMP 0.827155
INR 88.337079
IQD 1376.09326
IRR 44105.092296
ISK 145.129213
JEP 0.827155
JMD 166.717396
JOD 0.743407
JPY 161.017234
KES 135.70087
KGS 90.949906
KHR 4216.049598
KMF 491.430873
KPW 943.143731
KRW 1465.744813
KWD 0.322524
KYD 0.875395
KZT 524.545339
LAK 23070.211523
LBP 94069.025555
LKR 305.681556
LRD 189.077086
LSL 18.992854
LTL 3.094288
LVL 0.633887
LYD 5.141304
MAD 10.554058
MDL 19.202956
MGA 4908.747592
MKD 61.56337
MMK 3403.661487
MNT 3560.892996
MOP 8.418247
MRU 41.772186
MUR 49.588583
MVR 16.191014
MWK 1821.559347
MXN 21.56301
MYR 4.679056
MZN 66.935227
NAD 18.992854
NGN 1763.815703
NIO 38.652133
NOK 11.634516
NPR 141.698761
NZD 1.793324
OMR 0.403444
PAB 1.050514
PEN 3.978622
PGK 4.231643
PHP 61.81779
PKR 291.766354
PLN 4.315041
PYG 8184.587316
QAR 3.832098
RON 4.978336
RSD 117.014826
RUB 108.987644
RWF 1434.318918
SAR 3.935285
SBD 8.792818
SCR 14.272552
SDG 630.332048
SEK 11.536377
SGD 1.412348
SHP 0.827155
SLE 23.785419
SLL 21974.73918
SOS 600.330981
SRD 37.195469
STD 21690.199169
SVC 9.191998
SYP 2632.975314
SZL 18.987441
THB 36.352603
TJS 11.197577
TMT 3.678262
TND 3.331979
TOP 2.45438
TRY 36.278175
TTD 7.135076
TWD 34.036696
TZS 2777.035195
UAH 43.594831
UGX 3892.31507
USD 1.047938
UYU 44.775876
UZS 13476.251302
VES 48.817455
VND 26630.722396
VUV 124.413296
WST 2.925414
XAF 657.52431
XAG 0.034524
XAU 0.000399
XCD 2.832105
XDR 0.803523
XOF 657.530599
XPF 119.331742
YER 261.905872
ZAR 18.978345
ZMK 9432.70014
ZMW 28.966322
ZWL 337.435583
  • RBGPF

    0.8100

    61

    +1.33%

  • RYCEF

    0.0200

    6.79

    +0.29%

  • NGG

    0.1500

    63.26

    +0.24%

  • GSK

    0.1900

    34.15

    +0.56%

  • SCS

    0.4500

    13.72

    +3.28%

  • CMSC

    0.0578

    24.73

    +0.23%

  • BCC

    8.7200

    152.5

    +5.72%

  • CMSD

    0.1200

    24.58

    +0.49%

  • RIO

    0.6300

    62.98

    +1%

  • AZN

    0.7700

    66.4

    +1.16%

  • RELX

    -0.1800

    46.57

    -0.39%

  • BCE

    0.2500

    27.02

    +0.93%

  • JRI

    0.1600

    13.37

    +1.2%

  • BP

    -0.4000

    29.32

    -1.36%

  • BTI

    -0.0500

    37.33

    -0.13%

  • VOD

    0.1800

    8.91

    +2.02%

Kenya reintroduces tax reforms with new deputy president
Kenya reintroduces tax reforms with new deputy president / Photo: SIMON MAINA - AFP

Kenya reintroduces tax reforms with new deputy president

Kenya plans to reintroduce some of the tax hikes that sparked deadly protests earlier this year, the government announced Friday, while a new deputy president was sworn in after weeks of high political drama.

Text size:

President William Ruto scrapped an unpopular finance bill in June after the protests.

Rights groups accused police of a brutal and illegal crackdown that led to more than 60 people being killed, with dozens more arbitrarily arrested.

But Kenya's government desperately needs to boost revenues as it struggles under around $80 billion of debt.

It has prepared three new tax and finance bills, to be introduced soon in parliament, and sent out an explainer to the media on Friday.

Several proposals from the scrapped finance bill are being reintroduced, including VAT hikes and new taxes on the digital sector.

The latter means freelancers working in food delivery and for ride-hailing apps -- which have become vital sources of income in recent years -- will have to pay income tax for the first time.

Such tax hikes are likely to cause upset in a country where a third of the population lives below the poverty line.

In a speech, Ruto said Kenya's development was "overdue by decades" because it had failed to boost tax revenues.

"As a result, we lack the resources needed for development," he said, highlighting the 850,000 young people who enter the labour market each year and struggle to find jobs.

He did not address the new bills specifically but said the government aimed to raise tax revenues from 14 percent of GDP to 22 percent within a decade and increase compliance from 70 percent to 90 percent through tech-based automation.

"Our tax measures must be fair, and every eligible entity must pay," he said.

- New deputy -

Meanwhile, a new deputy president Abraham Kithure Kindiki, formerly the interior minister, was sworn into office on Friday.

It followed weeks of drama around the impeachment of Ruto's previous deputy, Rigathi Gachagua, who was accused of ethnically divisive politics.

Gachagua, a powerful businessman, helped Ruto win a closely fought election in 2022 by rallying support from the crucial Mount Kenya region, particularly members of the Kikuyu tribe.

But he fell out spectacularly with Ruto, not least by showing support for this year's protests.

Kindiki, a 52-year-old academic and lawyer, also hails from the vote-rich Mount Kenya region.

He defended his boss at the International Criminal Court when Ruto was accused of crimes against humanity over 2007-08 post-election violence.

In his acceptance speech, Kindiki described himself as the "most unlikely person" to take over the deputy presidency, having come from humble village origins.

"Kenya has made it possible for anyone to become anything in this country. I don't take it for granted," he said.

Kindiki was criticised for backing the police when they were accused of excessive force during the protests.

"Welcome to the team that is going to transform Kenya into a great nation," Ruto told him at the ceremony, listing plans to focus on improving higher education, healthcare, agriculture, housing and more.

(T.Burkhard--BBZ)