Budget 2022/23: Yatani hammers gamblers, alcohol lovers with tax rise

The National Treasury and Planning CS Ukur Yatani on Thursday announced an increase in taxes on gambling, gaming and alcohol advertisements.

While presenting the 2022/23 budget at the National Assembly, Yatani said the move seeks to control, gaming, gambling and too much consumption of alcohol.

"To discourage the promotion of these products and activities, I propose to introduce an excise duty of 15 per cent on fees charged by all television stations, print media, billboards, and radio stations for advertisements of these activities," he said.

He pointed out that advertisements for alcoholic beverages, betting and gaming contribute greatly to the promotion of the habits.

"These habits are extremely addictive and can result in a variety of harmful repercussions, especially for the youth. Their advertisements contribute to their usage."

He added that the new products in the tobacco industry have made it easier for them to be accessed even by underage children.

"The design of the products and their taxation regime has made them easily accessible to users including school children and youth, leading to nicotine addiction and consequently, drug use and addiction," he said.

Yatani proposed that the government should change the taxation regime of the liquid nicotine used in the production of cigarettes.

"I propose to change the taxation regime for liquid nicotine from the current shilling per unit to an excise duty of Sh70 per millilitre," he said.

Further, he proposed the increase in the rate of excise duty by 10 per cent for a certain number of products.

This is to help generate additional revenue for the government.

He, however, excluded petroleum products from additional taxes citing the recent global price increase of the same.