Narok Senator Ledama Olekina has said Kenya does not need inheritance taxes to manage its economy.
In a statement on Friday, the Senator said the country is rich enough and should instead, realign its existing resources and build its own economy.
"Do we really need the IMF to dictate to us how we should manage our resources? We don't need inheritance taxes these were abolished back in the 80s," he said.
His remarks come at a time when the tax exemption of the Moi and Kenyatta families has sparked political debates.
The two families are protected by section 7 (3) of the Estate Duty Act CAP 483.
President William Ruto on Monday, without directly mentioning names, said some people who were in power used state instruments to avoid paying taxes — something he said will not happen on his watch.
"Every citizen must pay tax. It doesn't matter even if they sponsor demonstrations so that they don't pay tax. I promise them they will pay tax. There is no more exemption," he said.
His Kenya Kwanza allies directly accused former President Uhuru Kenyatta of sponsoring anti-government meetings to avoid taxation pressure.
Ruto affirmed that Kenya is a country of equals where every citizen must bear their tax obligation without fail.
"This country is not the animal farm where some are more equal than others. We are going to have a society where every citizen carries [his or her] fair share of our burden to raise taxes," he added.
The exemption on estate duty levy has sparked public reactions with four citizens filing a petition to Parliament seeking to repeal the provision exempting families from paying estate duty levy.
The four argued the section of the Act infringes Article 210 (3) of the Act that compels all state officers to pay taxes.
