EDITORIAL: Move to impose VAT on cooking gas wrong
Friday, June 19, 2020 0:01
By EDITORIAL
Treasury should drop its bid for the new cooking gas levy.
FILE PHOTO | NMG
The Treasury's bid to reintroduce value-added tax (VAT) on cooking gas will ultimately reverse gains made in weaning households off dirty fuel.
This is a clear signal that imposition of the 14 percent VAT on cooking gas, which will see the 13-kilogramme cylinder rise by about Sh300, would roll back the gains at a time when Kenya has made a global commitment to deepen the use of clean energy.
These statistics should be sobering enough for the Treasury to drop its bid for the new cooking gas levy.
The Treasury reckons that it is removing a range of tax exemptions including the 14 percent VAT relief on cooking gas to make up for revenue lost to the impact of the Coronavirus disease crisis.
