The Anglican Archbishop Jackson Ole Sapit has called on the government to rethink its taxation system.
Ole Sapit on Thursday said the taxation regime in the country is killing the aspirations of Kenyans.
The cleric was speaking after attending a multi-agency summit on the realisation of good governance and efficiency in public service delivery in Kajiado.
“The taxation regime that we see today might not give us the results of the aspirations that were given to the hustlers when this government was coming on board,” the cleric said.
He said taxing bread, M-PESA, and taxation on motor vehicles is going to make Kenyans suffer more from the state they are in already.
“Taxing M-PESA will work negatively on the Kenyans in the rural areas like our mothers. I will be taxed when I send money to my mother, and on the other end, she will be equally taxed too,” Ole Sapit said.
He said farmers are suffering more in the production of food since the fuel they use, machinery, fertiliser and chemicals are all taxed heavily.
“The cost of doing business in this country will not be the same again because I see investors going to other countries,” he said.
He said the Kenya Kwanza government came into being on the platform of ensuring that the hustlers could grow and close a gap between the socioeconomic inequalities.
Ole Sapit called on the government to re-evaluate its taxation regime for the good of Kenyans.
He said that he is not opposed to Kenyans being taxed but the government should not tax the people on everything.
“Taxing motor vehicles will discourage Kenyans from buying cars. Let the people be taxed responsibly," he warned.
The Archbishop said the Kenya Kwanza government passed the housing levy despite opposition from the people, yet it is introducing taxes that exert more pressure on people.
He said good governance is a moral question and called on the government to step up its fight against corruption and instill confidence among tax payers.
