“We seemed to have lost this story around taxation where people are saying we are overtaxed. I don’t think we are, especially if you do a comparison with other countries,” noted the PS
Kiptoo went on to compare paying taxes to the increasing number of Harambe’s held countrywide for different occasions, insinuating that they were an indication of the people’s financial capabilities.
“Every weekend everybody is paying for Harambee (Fundraising) and is doing so willingly. If you don’t struggle to give for fundraising, how come when it comes to paying taxes we have to struggle? We need patriotism because paying taxes is good for us,” He questioned
The Principal Secretary further highlighted that a significant portion of the Kenyan population is failing to fulfill their tax obligations as mandated by law.
He noted that while 20 million individuals possess registered Personal Identification Numbers (PINs), only 8.5 million are actively engaged in tax-paying activities. Furthermore, not all of these active individuals are consistently paying their taxes.