The government is mulling to penalise multinational firms for adverts done outside the country but aired in Kenya.
According to the State, Multinational companies may be required to produce their adverts locally or pay a premium to air those adverts made outside the country.
ICT Cabinet Secretary Joe Mucheru revealed that making adverts locally will create jobs and also generate tax revenues for the government.
“Adverts are being done outside the country and they are brought in to Kenya in flash disks and these companies do not pay taxes. We have had discussions and we now need to start implementing airing tax for these adverts,” he stated.
"The firms who are producing the adverts locally, they are hiring people and paying taxes yet they are being penalized when people take all that money to other countries," he added.
Mucheru tasked the Communications Authority of Kenya to come up with a mechanism on how the government will tax multinational firms for adverts done outside the country but aired on local channels.
Many multinational companies produce a single advert that is aired throughout all its firms regardless of which country they are in.