President Ruto ‘happy and proud’ of how much taxes Kenyans are paying

President William Ruto now says he is happy and proud of the conversation Kenyans are having around how much taxes they’re paying, rather than the amount of debt the country is accumulating.

President Ruto, in the remark that comes as a subtle dig at his predecessor Uhuru Kenyatta’s administration, intimated that his government is more concerned with raising the country’s revenue internally rather than borrowing externally.

He noted that his administration will keep looking for new ways of raising taxes for its own development, as opposed to the means used by previous regimes of depending on foreign nations for aid.

“Many Kenyans have ideas. Many institutions are stepping forward to work with us on how we can raise revenue locally, and I’m very proud. A while ago, the conversation was how much of the debt is allocated to even children who are not yet born...public debt...I’m happy that this time round we’re having a conversation about, not debt, but taxes,” he said.

“That is significant improvement, we have moved away from how much debt we’re accumulating, to how much tax we’re paying...we’re in the right place, we’re having the right conversation...and it is because I did commit to the country that we’re going to begin the journey to wean ourselves from leaving beyond our means, to living within our budgets.”

Speaking on Friday in Mombasa during the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) National Taxpayers’ Day, the Head of State added: “And we must cut down on our budgets so that we can live within our means and avoid the slippery path towards accumulating debts.”

The remarks by the President come amidst uproar from Kenyans over the multitude of taxes imposed on them by the ruling administration in recent times.

The most recent of these came after Ruto signed four Universal Health Coverage (UHC) bills into law last month.

This meant that Kenyans employed in the formal sector will make a monthly contribution of 2.75 percent of their salary capped at a minimum of Ksh.300 and a maximum of Ksh.5,000.

Importers of second-hand vehicles in the country were in September also dealt a major blow after the government imposed new taxes on cars.

KRA introduced a new depreciation schedule which capped the maximum depreciation rate at 65% of the value of the vehicle, from 70% previously.