\n Kenya plans to reintroduce some of the tax hikes that sparked deadly protests earlier this year, the government announced Friday, while a new deputy president was sworn in after weeks of high political drama.\n<\/p>\n
\n President William Ruto scrapped an unpopular finance bill in June after the protests.\n<\/p>\n
\n Rights groups accused police of a brutal and illegal crackdown that led to more than 60 people being killed, with dozens more arbitrarily arrested.\n<\/p>\n
\n But Kenya's government desperately needs to boost revenues as it struggles under around $80 billion of debt.\n<\/p>\n
\n It has prepared three new tax and finance bills, to be introduced soon in parliament, and sent out an explainer to the media on Friday.\n<\/p>\n
\n Several proposals from the scrapped finance bill are being reintroduced, including VAT hikes and new taxes on the digital sector.\n<\/p>\n
\n The latter means freelancers working in food delivery and for ride-hailing apps -- which have become vital sources of income in recent years -- will have to pay income tax for the first time.\n<\/p>\n
\n Such tax hikes are likely to cause upset in a country where a third of the population lives below the poverty line.\n<\/p>\n
\n In a speech, Ruto said Kenya's development was \"overdue by decades\" because it had failed to boost tax revenues.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"As a result, we lack the resources needed for development,\" he said, highlighting the 850,000 young people who enter the labour market each year and struggle to find jobs.\n<\/p>\n
\n He did not address the new bills specifically but said the government aimed to raise tax revenues from 14 percent of GDP to 22 percent within a decade and increase compliance from 70 percent to 90 percent through tech-based automation.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"Our tax measures must be fair, and every eligible entity must pay,\" he said.\n<\/p>\n
\n - New deputy -\n<\/p>\n
\n Meanwhile, a new deputy president Abraham Kithure Kindiki, formerly the interior minister, was sworn into office on Friday.\n<\/p>\n
\n It followed weeks of drama around the impeachment of Ruto's previous deputy, Rigathi Gachagua, who was accused of ethnically divisive politics.\n<\/p>\n
\n Gachagua, a powerful businessman, helped Ruto win a closely fought election in 2022 by rallying support from the crucial Mount Kenya region, particularly members of the Kikuyu tribe.\n<\/p>\n
\n But he fell out spectacularly with Ruto, not least by showing support for this year's protests.\n<\/p>\n
\n Kindiki, a 52-year-old academic and lawyer, also hails from the vote-rich Mount Kenya region.\n<\/p>\n
\n He defended his boss at the International Criminal Court when Ruto was accused of crimes against humanity over 2007-08 post-election violence.\n<\/p>\n
\n In his acceptance speech, Kindiki described himself as the \"most unlikely person\" to take over the deputy presidency, having come from humble village origins.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"Kenya has made it possible for anyone to become anything in this country. I don't take it for granted,\" he said.\n<\/p>\n
\n Kindiki was criticised for backing the police when they were accused of excessive force during the protests.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"Welcome to the team that is going to transform Kenya into a great nation,\" Ruto told him at the ceremony, listing plans to focus on improving higher education, healthcare, agriculture, housing and more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Kenya plans to reintroduce some of the tax hikes that sparked deadly protests earlier this year, the government announced Friday, while a new deputy president was sworn in after weeks of high political drama. President William Ruto scrapped an unpopular finance bill in June after the protests. Rights groups accused police of a brutal and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":60,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[553],"tags":[],"ji_location":[],"class_list":["post-137841","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-live-feed"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n