Financial experts want 50pc tax on gaming reconsidered

By Kennedy Rioba              

Financial experts have warned the government against increasing gaming tax to 50% as proposed by Thursday’s budget.

The financial analysts from the Price House Water Coopers say the gaming and betting industry in Kenya is still growing and any tax increase should be done gradually.

They said 50 percent increase is way above what other companies in other sectors pay.

However the experts said the 2017/18 budget was ambitious but manageable with the country’s current economic growth.

They also urged Rotich to come up with a comprehensive and clear gaming tax plan since companies in the sector may end up paying more than 70 percent in taxes which may put off potential investors.

However they propose any tax increase to be gradual to prevent shocks in the gaming industry adding that the increased tax will not affect the common gamblers but betting companies will have to reduce price amounts to caution them from losses.

The analysts praised Rotich move to zero rate taxes on essential commodities saying the move will caution consumers especially in the current prevailing drought.

They called for stringed measure to prevent corruption and resource wastage in government offices in order to reduce government expenditure.