President Uhuru Kenyatta. Photo/the-star.co.ke
President Uhuru Kenyatta has recommended that betting, lotteries and gaming activities be taxed at the rate of 35 percent.
The recommendation by Uhuru was made in a memorandum to the Speaker of the National Assembly.
This is after he declined to assent to the Finance Bill, 2017, which was meant to amend the laws relating to various taxes and duties.
According to State House, the bill was rejected because Parliament deleted the clause that was designed to discourage the youth from engaging in betting.The purpose of Amendment of Section 59 B of Cap 469 was to "discourage Kenyans, and especially the youth, in directing their focus on betting, lottery and gaming activities instead of productive economic engagement, a vice that is likely to degenerate into a social disaster.” The proposal, which read, “29.
Section 59B of the Betting, Lotteries and Gaming Act is amended in subsection (1) by deleting the word “fifteen” and substituting therefor the word “fifty” was however dropped when Parliament passed the Bill. “This totally negates the spirit underlying the proposal to have the betting tax rasied as pointed above,” said the President in his proposal signed today.