News

Budget 2021/22: Cost of diapers reduce as cooking gas, bodaboda hike

Thursday, June 10th, 2021 20:26 | By
Treasury CS Ukur Yattani
Treasury CS Ukur Yattani. PHOTO/File
Treasury CS Ukur Yattani

Parents with small babies were among the elated members of the public who will reap big from the 2021/22 budget.

While reading the budget to members of Parliament, Treasury CS Ukur Yattani announced duty free importation of inputs for manufacture of baby diapers for a further one year.

"Baby diapers are essential products and there is need to supply them at affordable prices. In this regard, last year, we allowed manufacturers to access inputs for manufacture of baby diapers duty free, under Duty Remission Scheme. This was meant to support Kenya’s capacity to manufacture these products locally and create jobs," Yattani said.

To encourage Kenyans to use of green energy Yattani proposed to exempt from VAT equipment for generation of solar and wind energy.

This dealt a blow to those who use Liqufied Petroleum Gas for their daily use.

From July 1, expect the cost of motorcycles to rise since the excise duty on imported motorcycles will transition from a flat rate of Ksh.11,608.23 to a rate of 15 per cent raising the cost of units of boda-bodas.

On the other hand, importers of steel, shoes and leather products, wood and furniture face higher taxes after government imposed VAT on the products.

Gamblers on the other hand will have to part with their winning after Yattani reintroduce excise duty on betting at the rate of 20 percent of the amount wagered.

"The Finance Act 2020 removed excise duty on betting. The removal of this tax generated a lot of public debate considering that betting has become widespread in our society resulting
in negative social effects," Yattani said.

Smokers and users of tobacco products will also have to dig deeper into their pockets to buy the products.

While stating that innovations in the tobacco industry have led to introduction of new products such as nicotine pouches, Yattani said the new products do not fall in the classification of tobacco products existing in the Excise Duty Act and are therefore currently not subject
to taxation.

"In this regard, I propose to introduce excise duty on products containing nicotine or nicotine substitutes at a specific rate of Ksh 5.0 per gram. This
rate of excise duty is equivalent to the duty applicable to similar products under the Act," Yattani said.

More on News


ADVERTISEMENT

RECOMMENDED STORIES News


ADVERTISEMENT