The Finance Bill, 2022 was published and gazetted on 8 April 2022. The Bill proposes to make amendments to a raft of tax-related laws in Kenya, including the Income Tax Act (Chapter 470, Laws of Kenya), the Value Added Tax Act, 2013, the Tax Procedures Act, 2015, the Miscellaneous Fees and Levies Act, 2016 and the Excise Duty Act, 2015, among others. Additionally, the Bill proposes changes to other statutes such as the Capital Markets Act, the Insurance Act, the Unclaimed Financial Assets Act, the Statutory Instruments Act and the Evidence Act.

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Generally, bills come into effect either on the date of assent by the President or on the date of operation specified within the bill, whichever is earlier. We note that in the Bill, some of the proposed amendments, particularly those relating to income tax, have an effective date of 1 January 2023, while a majority of the other proposed amendments have been indicated to come into force on 1 July 2022.

The proposals in the Bill can be seen to target an increased tax base with the proposed introduction of income tax on gains received by non-residents from financial derivatives and a proposed increase in the rate of tax for Capital Gains Tax and Digital Services Tax. Further, the Bill has proposed an increase in excise duty rates for certain products. We have also seen that some amendments in the Bill are for purpose of streamlining the amendments that were introduced by the Finance Act, 2021.

It should be noted that the National Assembly has requested comments on the Finance Bill 2022 prior to enactment into law. The comments should be received by the Clerk to the National Assembly on or before 4 May 2022.

We have put together a comprehensive analysis of the key proposed amendments in the Bill as well as their potential impact on businesses in Kenya.

Read the full article here.

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Contributors
1.    Wangoi Karuga – Senior Associate
2.    George Gitau – Senior Associate
3.    Priscilla Githinji – Principal Associate
4.    Robert Mabwa – Associate
5.    Salma Khamala – Associate
6.    Dhruv Shah – Associate
7.    Nelson Mwai – Associate

 

Authors