The Kenya Revenue Authority can expect less tax collections. FILE PHOTO | NMG
In the nine months to March,
15 firms listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange have issued profit
warnings, indicating that their full-year earnings would drop by at
least 25 percent.
That must mean that the Kenya Revenue
Authority can expect less tax collections at a time the
taxman has been missing collection targets and the government has been borrowing large sums at home and abroad. This state of affairs only means that the ordinary citizen will not benefit from economic growth considering that many of the important players in the market are squeezed for revenue. When firms declare profit warnings, it means that instead of employing, they will be sending workers home, exposing the economy to more trauma. Indeed, according to the Federation of Kenya Employers (FKE), the bleak situation is a result of delayed payment of government contractors and suppliers; harsh levies both at the national and county government levels; high labour costs and adverse weather. Combined, these conditions have hit hard the sectors known to create many jobs.
taxman has been missing collection targets and the government has been borrowing large sums at home and abroad. This state of affairs only means that the ordinary citizen will not benefit from economic growth considering that many of the important players in the market are squeezed for revenue. When firms declare profit warnings, it means that instead of employing, they will be sending workers home, exposing the economy to more trauma. Indeed, according to the Federation of Kenya Employers (FKE), the bleak situation is a result of delayed payment of government contractors and suppliers; harsh levies both at the national and county government levels; high labour costs and adverse weather. Combined, these conditions have hit hard the sectors known to create many jobs.
The
government ought to address these and other challenges urgently and
proactively to reverse the regrettable trend that can only result in
economic slowdown unless something is done to reverse the trend.
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