Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, leader of the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya coalition, speaks during a media address at the office of Prime Cabinet Secretary Dr. Musalia Mudavadi on June 5, 2024. (Photo | Courtesy)
In Summary:
- Raila Odinga, leader of the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya coalition, has vehemently criticized the government’s Finance Bill 2024 proposals.
- He cautioned that if implemented, the bill could precipitate an economic collapse, exacerbating the plight of low-income Kenyans.
Raila Odinga, the opposition leader, has strongly condemned the Kenya Kwanza administration’s Finance Bill 2024. In a statement released on Friday, Odinga described the proposed legislation as a regressive taxation scheme that disproportionately burdens the underprivileged.
The former prime minister argued that the bill’s impacts would surpass those of the contentious Finance Bill 2023. He highlighted proposed increases in taxes and Value Added Tax (VAT) on essential commodities, warning that ordinary Kenyans would suffer from rising costs.
“The bill represents a regressive taxation proposal that ruthlessly targets the poor. Should it be ratified, low-income individuals will face a multifaceted onslaught of taxes, ultimately paying more than their higher-income counterparts,” Odinga stated. “Taxes on basic necessities like food, cooking oil, and mobile money transfers disproportionately affect the most impoverished citizens.”
Odinga criticized the government’s efforts to impose levies on manufactured goods such as diapers, a 2.5% tax on motor vehicles, and new taxes on insurance and reinsurance services. He also objected to the proposed increase in import declaration fees from 2% to 3%, arguing that it would raise the costs of imported goods in an import-reliant economy.
Drawing parallels with the Finance Bill 2023, Odinga asserted that despite higher taxes aimed at boosting revenues, the Kenya Revenue Authority consistently missed its targets.
He attributed this shortfall to the closure and relocation of businesses due to soaring operational costs from high fuel prices.
The opposition leader urged the government to learn from the previous fiscal year’s taxation measures, which he claimed subjected Kenyans to immense hardship without yielding the intended results.
“If we expect businesses to invest in Kenya, we cannot afford a tax policy that oscillates erratically,” Odinga cautioned. “We equally cannot tolerate taxation measures whose end result is to inflict more pain on the poor who expect relief.”
Underscoring the gravity of the situation, the former premier warned that the proposed tax measures could precipitate the collapse of an already strained economy, with the underprivileged bearing the brunt of the consequences.
“The tax proposals for 2024 will exacerbate an already precarious situation. They could usher in the collapse of an economy that is already severely suffocated, with the poor being the hardest hit,” he remarked.
Odinga implored Members of Parliament to scrutinize the Finance Bill 2024 meticulously and implement radical amendments to protect Kenyans from what he described as outrageous proposals.
He vowed that the opposition would not acquiesce to the continuation of the perceived mistakes and hardships inflicted by the Finance Act 2023 into the forthcoming fiscal year.