• Aukot said the high taxation is now killing enterprises and forcing businesses to close down.
• He claimed that this is also causing anger among Kenyan citizens.
Image: FILE
Thirdway Alliance party leader Ekuru Aukot now says that the heavy taxation by the Kenya Kwanza administration is making Kenyans poorer than they were.
Speaking on Thursday, Aukot said the high taxation is now killing enterprises and forcing businesses to close down.
He claimed that this is also causing anger among Kenyan citizens.
"Raising heavy taxes is wrong. It is killing enterprises, making Kenyans poor, collapsing businesses, and generating stress and anger among Kenyans," Aukot said.
He noted that because of this, basic irreducible minimum principles are missing in the country's governance.
He also insisted that it exposes the many faults in Kenya's economic governance.
Aukot insisted that a lot needs to be done if this is to be stabilized including restructuring the country's debt.
He added that targeted subsidies, tax cuts and cutting down on state spending are just among the things that can be done to save the country from its current predicament.
"We need debt restructuring, tax cuts, targeted subsidies, cut down on wastage, reduce the size of government to a small efficient size, and stop the outflow of resources on foreign trips."
Kenyans have been raising concerns over the Kenya Kwanza administration's continued measures that have raised taxes for various commodities in the country.
President William Ruto-led administration has also been increasing the cost of certain services in efforts to raise revenue for the government.
This is despite a campaign on the platform of easing the tax burden for Kenyans, as well as the cost of living which they claimed had been raised by policies put in place by the former regime.
The regime was under the leadership of former President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Since Ruto became President, several taxes have been imposed on Kenyans including a 1.5 per cent housing levy on gross salaries, a 5 per cent withholding tax on local digital content creators, and a turnover tax on enterprises making gross sales of between Sh1-Sh25 million.
Another 16 per cent value-added tax on petroleum products, excise duty on gaming and betting and Pay-As-You-Earn tax bands at 32.5 per cent and 35 per cent for income between Sh500,000 and Sh800,000 a month and income above Sh800,000 respectively.