New Lawsuit To Challenge Ruto’s Excessive Tax Appetite In Progress
The courts continue to be inundated with lawsuits seeking to curb the tax appetite of the government of President William Ruto.
In the latest case, lawyer and activist Fanya Mambo disclosed that he is leading a lobby group seeking to file a petition to curb the government’s indirect taxation to only 20 percent of an individual’s salary.
He argued that the lobbying group attempts to establish the Constitution’s taxation limit.
“We’re part of a lobby group that is moving to court next week and I am the main petitioner. We want a Constitutional petition that sets the limit to how much government can take from your salaries,” he lamented.
“We have gotten to a point in this country where the government feels entitled to our salaries. They wake up and decide that they can raid in your salary to the point that it is unlimited, the raid is uncontrolled.”
While both direct and indirect taxation have increased, the total tax burden on a monthly income has risen to over 60%, according to the activist.
The taxes included Pay as You Earn, medical coverage, and the newly implemented 1.5% housing levy.
Also on the rise were indirect taxes, which included the Value-Added Tax (VAT) on all retail products. The Ruto administration increased the value-added tax on petroleum from 8% to 16%.
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“As part of the talks at Bomas because we are sure a referendum will come out of it, we want Kenya to set a threshold and say that in indirect taxation, the government cannot take more than 20 percent of what you earn. That has to be made very clear,” he added.
The lawsuit was filed several weeks after the Supreme Court denied Senator Okiya Omtatah of Busia’s petition challenging the Court of Appeal’s decision to rescind orders preventing the implementation of the Finance Act 2023.
Omtatah wished to halt the implementation of the Finance Act 2023, which went into effect on 1 July, for salaried Kenyans.
“The four sets of written submissions filed out of time by the applicants on 15th August 2023 on the Court’s online platform be and are hereby struck out,” the judgment read in part. The ruling paved the way for Ruto to raise an estimated Ksh211 billion from the new taxes.
Earlier in August, the Law Society of Kenya filed a lawsuit challenging the implementation of the Finance Act and prohibiting the government from levying new taxes.
It was argued in the lawsuit that the state imposed the taxes at a time when Kenyans were struggling with a high cost of living.
New Lawsuit To Challenge Ruto’s Excessive Tax Appetite In Progress