NAIROBI, Kenya May 16 \u2013 U.S. Ambassador to Kenya, Meg Whitman, has expressed concerns about President William Ruto\u2019s proposal to increase Kenya\u2019s tax rate from 14% to 22% by the end of his tenure.<\/p>\n
The president has consistently defended his tax proposals, saying Kenya can only develop with taxation and not external loans.<\/p>\n
But his proposals have been criticised by Kenyans who feel the move will overburden them.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday night, the US Ambassador Whitman, who spoke on Citizen TV\u2019s JKLive Show underscored the significance of maintaining consistent tax policies to ensure a stable economic environment in Kenya.<\/p>\n
\u201cTaxation is a global issue, and American companies often highlight the need for Kenya to keep taxes low and stable,\u201d Whitman remarked. \u201cBusinesses plan their investments with a long-term perspective, typically over five to seven years. Therefore, it\u2019s crucial for tax rates to remain consistent during that period.\u201d<\/p>\n
Whitman advocated for expanding the tax base through job creation rather than merely increasing tax rates.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are two methods to boost tax revenue: raising rates or broadening the tax base by increasing the number of taxpayers,\u201d she explained. \u201cThis is why job creation is vital. When more people have well-paying jobs with steady incomes and benefits, they contribute to the tax base, reducing the burden on existing taxpayers.\u201d<\/p>\n
President Ruto has defended his administration\u2019s tax strategy, which aims to raise the country\u2019s average tax rate from 14% to 16% by the end of this year, and eventually to between 20% and 22% by the end of his term.<\/p>\n
Ruto acknowledged the economic challenges this plan might impose on Kenyans but emphasized its long-term benefits.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy objective is to elevate Kenya\u2019s tax rate to 16% this year from the current 14%, and to between 20% and 22% by the end of my term,\u201d Ruto stated. \u201cAlthough this will be challenging and might face opposition, I am confident that in the long run, Kenyans will recognize that the money we borrow from institutions like the World Bank essentially comes from the savings of other countries.\u201d<\/p>\n
Whitman\u2019s and Ruto\u2019s comments reflect the ongoing debate about balancing tax rates and economic growth in Kenya.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NAIROBI, Kenya May 16 \u2013 U.S. Ambassador to Kenya, Meg Whitman, has expressed concerns about President William Ruto\u2019s proposal to increase Kenya\u2019s tax rate from 14% to 22% by the end of his tenure. The president has consistently defended his tax proposals, saying Kenya can only develop with taxation and not external loans. But his […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40605","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40605","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40605"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40605\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40605"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40605"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40605"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}