The Private Sector has commended Treasury’s budget proposals to scrap levies hitherto collected by the National Environmental Management Authority and the National Construction Authority.
KEPSA head of Public Private Dialogue department Agatha Juma said the move will lighten the burden on those seeking to venture into real estate and fasten procedures to start such businesses.
Through their umbrella body the Kenya Private sector Alliance, the lobby said such levies had increased the cost of doing business and added to the heavy tax burden businesses bear in Kenya.
“We are happy to have these two levies removed because they were becoming too heavy in addition to the other taxes we already pay as the business community. It is good that they can now source funds from the exchequer where we remit a lot of tax already,” Ms Juma said.
She was addressing a post budget deliberations held together with tax and advisory firm Grant Thorton on Friday.
NEMA has been collecting 5 per cent levies on the cost of projects to certify its environmental fitness while the NCA has been asking for a 0.5 per cent levy on each housing projects being constructed.
Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich sought to scrap the two levies in Wednesday’s budget proposals that also proposed to remove the tea and the sugar development levy.
“Mr Speaker, in order to improve the earnings of the farmers, I propose to remove these levies. The institutions that were hitherto funded from these levies will now be funded from the exchequer. In addition, Mr Speaker, I also intend to remove all other levies including levies charged by National Environmental Management Authority and National Construction Authority in order to reduce the cost of doing business,” the CS said.
NEMA will now get its allocations from the Ministry of Environment and Natural resources while NCA will depend on the Department of infrastructure for funding.
