And among the winners are jobless teachers who are expected to fill 30,000 vacancies in an anticipated recruitment drive, farmers who will benefit from an extended fertilizer subsidy, security officers who will see their perks improved and traders as the government steps up disbursement of the Hustler Fund.
Integration of Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) systems with those of telecommunication companies to snoop on mobile money transactions is yet another step by the taxman to widen the tax net, having rolled out a similar plan for betting and gaming companies last November .they will be a showdown in parliament when proposed budget will be discussed intensively , Mwanainchi expect to be given first to be considered.
M-Pesa users, landlords and consumers are among the biggest losers in President William Ruto’s Sh3.641 trillion budget that seeks to introduce new tax measures and end state-funded subsidies. For every coin sent or received through online platforms will be subject to taxation.
Ruto's priorities
The National Treasury on Wednesday published the draft 2023 Budget Policy Statement (BPS) for public comments, and the key policy document now reveals Dr Ruto’s priorities in his first budget that covers the financial year 2023/24.
The Treasury expects to collect Sh2.89 trillion in revenues in the 2023/24 financial year to fund this spending, a 15.1 per cent increase from the estimated Sh2.51 trillion to be collected in the current financial year, which will be supported by a retinue of new tax measures.
“The government will scale up revenue collection efforts by the KRA to Sh3 trillion in the financial year 2023/24 and Sh4 trillion over the medium term,” said the Treasury.
Energy has also emerged as a major loser, with its spending cut by Sh7.35 billion to Sh77.79 billion from Sh85.14 billion, while Public Service will have to do with a budget of Sh22.1 billion compared to Sh25.18 billion it was allocated in the current financial year.
Another loser is Crop Development, which has been allocated Sh26.13 billion compared to Sh35.7 billion this year, and Housing, which has been given Sh16.94 billion down from Sh20.04 billion.
Dr Ruto faces a fiscal deficit of Sh695.2 billion, a sharp drop from this year’s projected deficit of Sh849.2 billion, and plans to plug it through external loans of Sh198.6 billion and a further Sh496.6 billion in domestic loans.
bambani@ke.nationmedia.com
