President Uhuru has assented and signed into law the Finance bill 2020, 2020/21 Budget, and the 2019/20 third Supplementary Budget.
The finance bill will see Kenyans enjoy zero-rated maize, cassava, and wheat flour for six months, a move that will cushion against the adverse effects of the COVID19 pandemic.
Furthermore, the bill has removed the excise duty on betting a move that will see local betting firms resume operations after a 10-month hiatus. The new Finance Act also extends the zero-rating of VAT on cooking gas for one year.
However, some of the amendments in the Finance bill sought to reduce the threshold for excise duty for alcoholic drinks a move that widens the net of alcoholic beverages subject to excise duty thus increasing the price of the drinks.
The 3.2 trillion 2020/21 Budget contains a KSh 56.6 billion post-COVID-19 economic stimulus package and an allocation of KSh 128.3 billion to the Government’s Big Four agenda.
READ ALSO: Kenya Budget 2020/21; More Taxes
The third 2019/20 supplementary budget of KSh 18.4 billion was approved by the National Assembly to address the Covid-19 health crisis and other emerging challenges. Of this, KSh 5 billion will be given to Counties for Coronavirus response while KSh 3.4 billion will be used for Covid-19 allowances to frontline health workers.
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