The Kenyan Parliament approved, this Tuesday (25), the increase in the country’s taxes. This is the third vote by legislators on the issue, which now goes to presidential sanction.
The finance law aims to raise an additional $2.7 billion in taxes as part of an effort to reduce public debt. The country’s interest payments alone consume 37% of annual revenue.
Discussion of the measure caused widespread protests among Kenyan citizens. Protesters are opposing tax increases in a country already recovering from a cost of living crisis, and many are also calling for President William Ruto to resign.
Ruto won elections almost two years ago on a platform of defending the working poor, but has been cornered by demands from creditors such as the International Monetary Fund, which is urging the government to reduce the public deficit to access more financing.
Kenyans have struggled to cope with multiple economic shocks caused by the lingering impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, two consecutive years of droughts and currency devaluation.
The government has already made some concessions, promising to eliminate proposed new taxes on bread, cooking oil, car ownership and financial transactions. But this was not enough to satisfy the protesters.
Source: CNN Brasil
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