Friday, February 23, 2024 – Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s Azimio has poked holes into President William Ruto’s 2024 Budget Policy Statement published by the Treasury.
According to the Treasury, the policy measures were drafted
to improve economy-wide efficiencies, create an enabling environment that
supports growth in businesses, and reduce the cost of living.
However, Azimio, while terming the statement as flawed and
unachievable, warned Kenyans to brace for double taxation.
While insisting on their claims, Azimio alleged
the government was out to double tax every adult over Ksh27,000.
"If the BPS is anything to go by, Kenyans must be ready
to tighten their belts because the Kenya Kwanza regime is coming after them in
a second wave of taxes," Azimio warned.
"To the ordinary Kenyans, the Mama mboga, Boda-Boda
riders, and the people of Mjengo, the regime is coming again with a double
taxation plan with increased taxes of approximately Ksh27,000 per adult
Kenyan," Azimio stated adding that the taxes were spread across different
sectors.
One of the sectors is education where parents were cautioned
to prepare for hiked school fees as the BPS proposed Value Added Tax (VAT) on
educational services, especially extra-curricular activities.
Last year, the Treasury warned that VAT exemption on
education that includes all services provided by schools creates unfairness.
Azimio further accused the government of coming up with
inflated, questionable, and imaginary budgetary figures without clear measures
of how it would raise the funds.
"A cursory look at the Budget Policy Statement, 2024
indicates that will kill the middle class and when the middle class is dead, they
will hurt millions of our people," Raila's camp stated.
The Kenyan DAILY POST
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