Cooking gas dealers warn VAT will slow conservation efforts
A worker arranges LPG cylinders at a Nyeri petrol station on May 22, 2013. FILE
What you need to know:
Cooking gas dealers say the VAT Bill will force traders to pass on the costs to consumers –pushing Kenyans to use of charcoal and kerosene.
Cooking gas dealers have raised concerns over the VAT Bill, saying if passed it will ruin the efforts made towards environmental conservation.
They argue that the Bill, which seeks to subject all items to 16 per cent tax including gadgets used in sale of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), will force traders to pass on the costs to consumers –pushing Kenyans to use of charcoal and kerosene.
Andrew Omollo, the general manager of Premier Gas said the tax would be a major setback to forests conservation.
“We are trying to make gas affordable to the common man, but if the Bill is passed, prices will to automatically go up,” he said.
He was speaking during the launch of Pima gas, an initiative that allows a customer to purchase cooking gas for as little as Sh50.
The company launched a gas cylinder with two-kilogramme capacity which can be filled with Sh200. This can last up to a week depending on its usage.
Mr Omollo said LPG should be affordable if Kenyans are to stop using kerosene and charcoal.
“We intend to introduce smaller cylinders than the six kilogrammes and 13 kilogramme ones,” he said, adding that the cheaper cylinders will enable low-income earners not cut trees for firewood and charcoal.
“We want cheap and clean energy for all Kenyans and save many from the stress of lighting up jikos and stoves,” he said.
A UN report indicates that indoor air pollution kills at least 100 people in Kenya daily.
The controversial VAT Bill now being scrutinised by a parliamentary committee seeks to waive tax exemptions on more than 400 items including bread, milk, flour, medicine, farm inputs and sanitary pads.
