Kenya Will Resurrect Abandoned Tax Ideas, Perhaps Causing Upheaval

The contentious eco-levy tax will shortly be presented to Kenya’s Parliament in an updated form.

Treasury Secretary John Mbadi said that “about 49 measures” were being discussed as part of a tax revision bill in an interview with Citizen TV Kenya.

The goal of the eco-levy tax is to reduce waste management and pollution in homes and workplaces.

This proposal, as the newly appointed secretary has stressed, will not include sanitary towels, unlike the first one.

Businesses continue to be targeted by the police. The US beverage giant Coca-Cola challenged the 10 percent tax on all plastics made locally, a move that the minister criticized.

“They’ll explain to us why they’re against it,” Mbadi declared. “This country is not a dumping place.”

“If you are injurious to the environment then you must pay for helping make good the harm that you have caused.”

Moreover, by extending the tax amnesty period by six months, the administration hopes to raise more revenue.

Kenya’s Finance Bill 2024 was canceled in June as a result of large-scale anti-tax demonstrations. President William Ruto was compelled by this to review the budget and look into other sources of funding.