A group of 25 civil society organisation (CSOs) in Kenya has faulted the proposed Housing Fund contribution of three percent by employed Kenyans taxed.
Development Diaries reports that the country’s Deputy President, Rigathi Gachagua, had defended the proposed Housing Fund, arguing that it is a way of creating more jobs for the youths while dignifying Kenyans who have no homes.
‘Building over 200,000 house units annually will enable Kenyans to live in dignity. With each housing requiring an average of eight artisans, it will also create over 1.6 million job opportunities’, he said during the inaugural graduation at Mukurwe-ni Technical Training Institute in Nyeri.
However, the group of CSOs said that the tax hike is punitive as it is coming at a time when the country’s economy is slowly recovering from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
‘We are aggrieved that we don’t see the value of the money we are collecting. This must be looked into’, Abraham Rugo from the International Budget Partnership said.
The CSOs also opposed the excise duty on mobile money transfer services and a Sh25 per kilo excise duty on powdered juice.
They are also against the introduction of excise duty on all imported and locally produced sugar purchased by the pharmaceutical industry.
The CSOs advised the state to empower and adequately finance institutions like the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) and the judiciary to fight against graft.
The group, as reported by Capital FM, also called for the empowerment of the Office of Public Debt Management by making it an independent office.
Photo source: Capital FM
