Busia County Senator Okiya Omtata has spoken about his plan to block William Ruto’s Finance Bill of 2023.
William Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza government has drafted a finance bill that aims to increase government revenue from taxes.
However, renowned activist and Busia Senator Okiya Omtata has prepared a petition to oppose the finance bill.
Speaking at a Church meeting attended by Ruto on Sunday, Omtata said that the Finance Bill has both good and bad things. He said that the country has laws that must be protected, but the new budget violates some provisions of the Constitution.
“I finished reading the budget on Friday, and there are good and bad aspects. People are lying to you,” Omtata said on Sunday.
“The Finance Bill has many bad things that are offending the Constitution…I have already prepared a petition to go to court,” he added.
The Finance Bill 2023 is expected to be tabled before parliament in the coming month ahead of 2023/2024 budget reading. But it may face court battles before it even goes to First Reading.
The Bill proposes a housing tax of 3% to be levied on all civil servants. It also introduces digital assets tax, targeting crypto currencies, digital currencies, and NFTs.
Digital content creators will also be taxed if the new bill is passed.
The tax bracket is also set to be changed. Businesses with a turnover of over KES 500,000 will file income tax returns as opposed to the previous limit of KSH 1,000,000.
The taxman will also increase VAT on petroleum products from 8% to 15%. This will definitely push oil prices upwards and worsen the cost of living in an economy that is heavily reliant on petroleum-based fuel.
