Taxes on online betting firms and diapers will be lowered if recommendations of a House committee to reduce levies introduced in March by Treasury secretary Henry Rotich are adopted.
The National Assembly’s Finance, Planning and Trade committee is proposing diapers be included in the list of goods exempted from paying the 16 per cent VAT.
This looks set to lower the cost of diapers which has been on the rise in recent years as more mothers use them over nappies.
“The committee further adopted amendments to clauses… maintaining the status quo on taxation of betting, gaming and lotteries and having the proceeds go to sports fund,” noted the report from the committee.
Mr Rotich proposed in March to raise the tax rate for betting firms to 50 per cent of gross profits from 7.5 per cent.
The tax would fund sports, culture and the arts, he said.
This prompted an uproar from gamming firms which warned that the seven-fold tax hike would suffocate the fledgling industry and hurt supporting businesses including telecoms and media companies.
If adopted, sports betting firms will continue to enjoy lower taxes of between five and 15 per cent.
The companies have been paying five per cent tax on lottery, 7.5 per cent on betting, 12 per cent for gaming and 15 per cent for prize competition. Apart from this, players in the gaming industry pay 30 per cent corporate tax.
Gaming industry executives said about seven million Kenyans have registered for betting services.
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