Finance Chair Kuria Kimani has explained why the government has opted for tough tax decisions, especially for imported goods.
In response to critics, Kimani stated that the incentives were aimed at protecting the local manufacturing industry that was creating jobs.
As highlighted by the Molo MP, similar decisions were taken in the Finance Bill 2023 and proved to be fruitful in the job creation agenda.
In particular, he cited the excise duty that was imposed on imported furniture, a move that saw the local carpentry industry thrive.
"We zero-rated local assembly of mobile phones and as a result, we are producing 400,000 phones every day for the external market.
"It demonstrates giving tax incentives to manufacturers leads to the growth of local manufacturing and promotes the Buy Kenya, Build Kenya," he stated.
On the other hand, he expressed that Kenya was at risk of losing investors to other countries if measures were not taken to protect the local manufacturing industry.
"How much do we hate our young people that we'd rather export these jobs to India and China and not have them here in Kenya?" Kimani posed.
"How much do we hate ourselves for allowing resources to go to other countries and not to our own manufacturers?"
In the Finance Bill 2024, the government resorted to imposing the Eco Levy on imported finished goods, especially electronic gadgets like smartphones.
Initially, the levy was to be imposed on locally manufactured goods like diapers, however, owing to concerns by the Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) the decision was rescinded.
Notably, thousands of Kenyans have taken to the streets in recent days over the current tax proposals that have been described as punitive. Referred to as the 'Occupy Parliament Protests' the youth have voiced their dissent over the current tax measures.
