Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi says the government will contemplate tax reductions across various sectors once the economy recovers.
During an exclusive interview on Thursday morning with KBC Radio Taifa, Mudavadi defended the perceived high taxes implemented by the government, citing their inevitability due to the challenging state of the economy.
He appealed for patience as the government works towards lowering the cost of living and enhancing the lives of the common mwananchi.
Mudavadi urged Kenyans to be patriotic and refrain from slandering their nation.
The PCS at the same time defended the new loans being acquired by the government from international financial institutions like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, emphasizing that they are more favorable and carry lower interest rates.
Mudavadi further reaffirmed the government’s commitment to reducing the country’s debt.
‘No Country Grows Without Taxing Its People’
Mudavadi emphasized that for the country to overcome its current situation, Kenyans must embrace the collection of their revenue. He added that the government is actively working to close tax evasion loopholes.
“There is no country that grows and becomes economically stable without taxing its people. The government gets its revenue to undertake its functions only through borrowing, which leads to debts and taxes collected from its people. Even in developed countries nobody likes or enjoys paying tax. But that remains the rule of thumb for a country to sustain itself,” Mudavadi said.
The Foreign Affairs Minister emphasized that no regime is pleased to burden its citizens with taxes, asserting that once stability is achieved and the country returns to the path of economic growth, it will bring relief to Kenyans within the tax regime.
“We are working hard as government to seal the loopholes of tax evasion even as we look for other avenues on how we can generate revenue. What we are encouraging and working on is expanding the tax bracket and not increasing taxes. That is why we are looking for opportunities for creating more jobs so that many people can be enrolled in the tax payment quarter,” said Mudavadi.
