Following a recommendation by the National Assembly Finance and Planning Committee to reduce the housing levy from 3% to 1.5%, the Kenya Kwanza government announced through their Twitter account on Monday, December 12, 2023, that there are plans to reduce the housing levy by half to 1.5%.
These claims were backed by Gatanga MP Edward Muria, who thanked the president through a tweet for listening to Kenyans’ grievances and agreeing to consider the reduction of the housing levy.
The committee, however, made several other recommendations on the bill in a report released on Sunday, November 11, 2023, before the bill was tabled in the house business committee. These recommendations include:
- The proposed deductions on the housing fund are to be remitted by employees only rather than employers. The finance bill suggests that employers are expected to match employees’ deductions.
- The proposed bill implementation is to be delayed to 2024 to provide room for proper planning and adjustments to avoid crises in the coming days, as Molo, a member of parliament, suggested while compiling a report for the committee about the finance bill on Sunday, the 11th.
- Reduction of the proposed 15% VAT on digital content creators: The bill proposes a withholding tax of 15% on income generated by digital content creators.
- Provision of tax waivers on agricultural inputs, vaccines, and electric cars
The committee, however, backed the proposed 16% VAT on petroleum products. The second reading is set to happen on Wednesday, April 14th, after approval by the house business committee.
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