The National Treasury on Tuesday rebuffed arguments that Kenyans are being taxed to an excessive degree.
While reiterating that there is a need for the country to raise its own revenues for development, Treasury Principal Secretary Chris Kiptoo said there is a need to carry out more education and awareness to demystify claims that Kenyans are being overburdened by taxes, as that was the case.
“We seemed to have lost this story around taxation where people are saying we are overtaxed. I don’t think we are, especially if you do a comparison with other countries,” noted the PS
Speaking during the Kenya Kwanza retreat chaired by President William Ruto in Naivasha, Nakuru County, Kiptoo reiterated that compulsory contribution to state revenue is good for the country and ought to be embraced by all and sundry.
“Every weekend everybody is paying for Harambee (Fundraising) and is doing so willingly. If you don’t struggle to give for fundraising, how come when it comes to paying taxes we have to struggle? We need patriotism because paying taxes is good for us,” he said
According to the PS, many people in Kenya are not paying taxes as required by the law. He says, that records show that there are 20 million Kenyans who have a registered Personal Identification Number (PIN), yet there are only 8.5 million who are active, and even from the 8.5 million, not all are paying taxes.
By Eric Biegon