Friday, December 6, 2024 - Kenyans can breathe a sigh of relief after the National Assembly Finance Committee recommended several changes to the Tax Laws (Amendment) Bill 2024.
This follows concerns from
various stakeholders during the public participation exercise conducted last
month.
Among the notable changes
proposed by the committee included the adjustment of the Pay As You Earn (PAYE)
bands.
The move followed an uproar by
stakeholders over higher PAYE cuts imposed on Kenyans earning Ksh500,000 and
above.
Stakeholders lamented over the
introduction of a 32 per cent PAYE cut on Kenyans earning between Ksh500,000
and Ksh800,000 and 32.5 per cent on employees earning above Ksh800,000.
They argued that the deductions
exceeded the average rate of 30 per cent thus placing pressure on employees
whose net pays were already strained by other deductions.
While addressing the concern,
the Finance Committee assured the participants that the National Treasury would
soon begin the process of eliminating the current top bands to improve the
progressivity of all salaried Kenyans.
Another key adjustment recommended
by the committee included the scrapping of the 5 per cent tax on infrastructure
bonds.
The Finance Committee also
endorsed the deletion of the clause that proposed the increase of
telephone and internet data services from the current 15 per cent to 20 per
cent to enhance online jobs.
Another major change recommended
by the committee included the scrapping of 5 per cent and 20 per cent
withholding tax on resident and non-resident digital marketplaces to promote
the e-commerce industry.
The legislators also proposed
the exemption of park entry fees from Value Added Tax (VAT) to boost the
tourism and transport sectors.
Similarly, imported ceramics,
sinks and wash basins were spared the proposed introduction of excise duty.
Further, air ticketing services
have been spared the standard-rated VAT of 16 per cent which means the air
services would remain VAT exempt.
The Committee also recommended
the dropping of the recommended excise duty on imported pasta because the local
production was still unable to meet domestic demand and the proposal would
simply increase the cost of living.
The Kenyan DAILY POST
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1 Comments
Are these legislators targeting to ease tax burden on hustlers especially PAYE or themselves? The earn a million plus hence they target the 32 % PAYE. Why not adjust from top to burden to allow wanjiku also benefit like Jubilee government under Uhuru Kinyata did during Covid-19?
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