The Nairobi County government has unveiled an ambitious budget plan through which it is seeking to collect Sh35.2 billion from city residents over the next year, with the highlight being a significant increase in the taxes that it intends to raise from various services such as parking.
Whereas the public has never been averse to paying taxes as required by law, the biggest frustration has been seeing how these taxes are used, which has raised more questions than answers.
Over the years, service delivery in the city has been wanting with many services in deplorable condition as illustrated by the poor condition of the East Gate Road, which, despite hosting high-profile industries and investors, remains one of the most dilapidated in Nairobi, yet its contribution to the tax kitty is significant.
The public yearns for a cleaner, friendlier and greener city where transport is streamlined, streets are safe, garbage is collected, parking boys are removed from public parking spaces and street families are rehabilitated and where, most importantly, clean water flows from every tap every day of the week. These are the services that the public wants prioritised and provided with consistency.
As such, even as the county government moves to collect the money from the enhanced taxes, including the proposed significant revision of land rates, it must also come up with a clear plan of how to provide the services that the city so much yearns for. The people will be watching how Governor Mike Sonko and his administration execute this mandate.
PAYE Tax Calculator
Note: The results are not exact but very close to the actual.
