Kenya Finance Committee throws out government’s tax hike plan
The Finance and National Planning Committee of Kenya’s National Assembly published its updated version of the country’s Finance Bill, following a period of public input on the Treasury’s version of the bill.
In the committee’s version of the bill, the excise tax on betting stakes would remain at 7.5%, while no new tax would be brought in for gambling advertising.
Both of these were amendments from the Treasury’s version of the bill, which proposed a 20% excise tax on betting stakes, plus a 15% tax on gambling advertising spend.
The committee argued that this was not wise, however, as the current 7.5% rate has been in place for less than one year, so there has not been enough time to judge if it has been a success.
“The committee observed that excise duty on gaming activities had been increased in the Finance Act, 2021 and there is therefore need to give the sector time before taxes are increased,” the committee said. “The committee therefore recommends that the amendment be deleted..
