Even as the government plans to impose a new levy on supermarkets and convenience stores for selling cooking and catering food within their premises it should not lose sight of the fact that it should place more emphasis on quality too.
Most supermarkets in the country have adopted a new model that includes in-store restaurants or delis. These have proved popular with consumers because of their convenience.
According to the Tourism Fund, it is seeking to collect an annual fee of between Sh50 million and Sh70 million from the segment. The Tourism Act mandates the State body to collect two percent levy from hotels, bars and eateries. However, the supermarkets and convenience stores are complaining that they will end up being taxed twice as they already pay 16 percent VAT.
We urge the government to consult with the main stakeholders before rolling out the new tax.
It would be wrong to expect the segment to immediately start paying the new tax without exhausting consultations.
We opine that as the government moves to collect levies from this segment, the consumer should remain supreme hence the need to entrench quality.
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Note: The results are not exact but very close to the actual.
