Nairobi — The increment of Tax on Fuel and basic commodities as well as the introduction of the Housing levy have been cited as the worst provisions in the budget that came into effect last Saturday.
According to a survey released by TIFA, both pro-government and pro-opposition respondents are concerned about the increase in Value Added Tax (VAT) on petroleum products and the effect it will have on the already spiraling cost of living.
25 percent of President William Ruto's supporters felt the Increment of the VAT on Fuel from 8 to 16 percent is a worst provision while 8 percent are against the Affordable Housing tax while 5 percent oppose the increase of any form of taxation.
"There is very little contrast in the views of Government vs. Opposition supporters, with the increase in VAT on petroleum products considered "worst" by both," Tom Wolf TIFA Research Analyst said Tuesday.
"But again, the main difference is that rather more Government supporters failed to identify any provision as "worst" (and thus mentioned "none") as compared to those of the Opposition (47% vs. 34%)."
28 percent of opposition supporters disagree with the increment of Fuel VAT, while 13 percent disapprove of both the move to remove basic food subsidies and the implementation of the affordable housing levy.
The findings revealed that there is widespread agreement among Kenyans across the political divide on the best provisions of the new Budget with educational support and subsided farm inputs singled out as best provisions.
"The only notable difference being that rather more Opposition supporters are unable (or unwilling) to mention any provision they consider to be "best" (82% vs. 71%), which also highlights that even among Government supporters, more than two-thirds likewise find nothing positive In it," TIFA says.
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Furthermore, the survey indicated diverse perceptions among Kenyans regarding the main purpose of the new 2023-24 Budget.
The most widely held view was that the budget aimed to increase government revenue, although this sentiment did not exceed one-third among any category.
From the findings, Government and opposition supporters differed somewhat, with twice as many government supporters seeing the budget's main purpose as development and service delivery compared to the opposition (18% vs. 9%).
However, nearly three times as many opposition supporters believed the main purpose was to enable corruption.
President William Ruto's administration targets to raise an extra Sh50 billion from fuel taxes.
