We Kenyans are in more trouble than we can ever imagine. This is after an oppressive budget was read yesterday. Kenya national budget 2018 is considered to have introduced harmful elements especially for the working class.
MPESA (mobile money) transactions are going to be real expensive after Cabinet Secretary (CS) Henry Rotich introduced a 12% excise duty on what he calls ‘cellular phones money transfer’.
Read More:
If you think private cars are expensive wait until you get slapped with a 30% excise duty on all private passenger cars which exceed 2,500 cc for diesel or 3,000 cc for petrol powered motor cars. If you knew this would happen, I know you would have bought your car before today but ‘man must live.’
Transferring your money which is over 500,000 is going to become quite expensive after you will be required to part with 0.05%. This will apply for all banks and any pother financial institution. Therefore, if you transfer your cool Ksh. 1 million, you will part with Ksh. 500 for the taxman.
If you thought your salary is small, do not worry, in FY 2018/2019 it will even lose weight when the tax money will start taxing it to raise funds towards the national housing fund. Your employer will always be required to part with 7.5% towards that fund. We did not foresee this coming!
Exporting copper waste and scrap will not be a walk in the park. In fact it will not be profitable or lucrative as businessmen and women put it. Going forward, this business will attract a 20% export levy in the name of protecting local manufacturers.
Just like the United States, Kenya is becoming protectionist on the matter of iron and steel as well as paper. For iron import duty is jumping from 25% to 35%.
Vegetable oil producers will live in paradise this time round. The competition they have been facing will disappear because every Metric tonne of imported oil will attract a USD$500 as import duty.
Finally, courtesy of Kenya national budget, those planning to get into the assembly of computers in Kenya, this is the best time to get on board because the national treasury has given a Value Added Tax exemption for the business to trigger innovation and create jobs for the many unemployed Kenyans.
GOT a story? RING Kerosi Dotcom on +254 20 78 64348 or EMAIL info@kerosi.com
