The National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK) has raised concerns regarding the new taxes proposed in the Finance Bill 2024.
Rev. John Mark Godia, Chairperson of NCCK's Nyanza region, emphasized the need for the government to alleviate the tax burden by reducing the proposed taxation levels.
"It is shocking to us that government officials can be so insensitive as to propose new taxes in the Finance Bill 2024," Godia said.
He said the proposed Finance Bill 2024 is causing depression and anger among the masses.
Godia noted that policies are being put in place by Parliament and County Assemblies which are killing the dignified livelihood options of the citizens.
"The Finance Acts passed by Parliament in the past 5 years, as well as the County Finance Appropriation Bills, have systematically muzzled businesses and investments by raising taxation to unmanageable levels," Godia said.
The cleric urged the county governments to provide favorable business environment by consolidating and rationalising all the fees, levies and licenses required by different agencies and authorities.
Godia said starting and running a business should be made extremely easy, recognising that a higher number of enterprises translates to higher income for the county governments.
On food security, Godia said despite having arable land, most families in the country are not food secure.
"Those who engage in farming do not always produce the best suited crops for their areas while using the same techniques and technologies as they did 50 years ago," he said.
Gidia called on the government to organise trainings for farmers on innovation and value addition to improve their incomes and welfare.
The cleric also want the State to employ and deploy agricultural field officers to mentor farmers on crop and animal production.
"The government should develop initiatives that inspire the youth to embrace agriculture and value addition as dignified livelihoods," he said.
