Ruto promises to raise tax rate from 14% to 22%
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President Ruto promises to raise the tax rate from 14% to 22% to help the country get out of debt distress
President Ruto promises to raise the tax rate from 14% to 22% to help the country get out of debt distress.
President William Ruto has defended the government’s plan to levy additional taxes on Kenyans, stating that it is part of a broader strategy to enhance the country’s revenue and reduce reliance on borrowing.
The Head of State says he intends to raise the country’s average tax rate from the current 14 percent to 16 percent by the end of this year and aims for a rate of between 20 and 22 percent by the end of his term in office.
Ruto made the pronouncement during a meeting with Harvard University students at the State House in Nairobi where he affirmed his commitment to ensuring that Kenya charts a path towards sustainability and avoids taking out loans.
The president stated that the only way to do this is for every eligible Kenyan to pay their fair share to the taxman.
“I am not going to preside over a bankrupt country, I am not going to preside over a country that is in debt distress. We have to cut our spending,” Ruto declared.
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While acknowledging the economic burden Kenyans will have to bear to achieve this target, Ruto believes that the long-term benefits will justify the increased taxes.
“Kenyans have been socialised to believe they pay a lot of taxes, but empirical data shows that Kenya last year our tax was at 14 per cent,” Ruto stated.
“Our peers in the continent are between an average of between 22 percent and 25 percent, our taxes are way below our peers,” he argued.
Ruto’s sentiments came barely a week after the National Treasury gazetted the Finance Bill, 2024 which proposed a slew of new taxes which attracted backlash from finance experts and Kenyans in general.
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