Atwoli wants tax deductions to be made on basic salary

Central Organisation of Trade Unions (COTU) Secretary General Francis Atwoli has called on the government to remodel the tax deductions architecture to favour Kenyan workers.

Speaking during the Labour Day celebrations at Uhuru Gardens in Nairobi on Thursday, the COTU boss said that monthly deductions should only affect the basic salary of Kenyan workers and not their gross pay.

He called on President William Ruto to champion his appeal, noting that pay slips for Kenyan workers are being largely affected by the tax cuts.

“All salary deductions and statutory deductions should be on basic pay and not on gross where somebody has might have toiled very hard on overtime and does not realise something,” he noted.

He argued that overtime, allowances or bonuses should not be included in the monthly deductions.

This comes as Kenyans have lamented the increasing tax burden imposed by President Ruto’s government, after including a myriad of additional deductions among them the Housing Levy and the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF).

Atwoli further reiterated his call for media regulation, urging Kenyans to embrace patriotism and tame the growing misuse of digital platforms.

“We must love this country. We have no other country. If we don’t regulate social media. In China, Dubai, UK and US it is regulated. Kenya cannot be free for all,” he added.