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Ex-Health Cabinet Secretary (CS) Mutahi Kagwe has taken a swipe at the Kenya Kwanza regime over its taxation policies.

Addressing a crowd in Tigania East over the weekend, the former minister criticized the government’s recently proposed Farm Produce Tax terming it as an ill-advised taxation policy. Kagwe defended his opinion saying farmers should make profits before being taxed.

The former CS also castigated Ruto’s increased tax measures saying it was causing a strain on already burdened Kenyans who were struggling to survive the lean times.

“One can not pay tax from what they have sold, as it is not profit, they should pay tax from profit and not the 30 per cent of sales as stated in the proposed tax,” Munya said.

Kagwe also criticized President William Ruto’s Hustler Nation slogan saying it was time that the narrative was thrown out of the picture and the purpose of education reinvented to move the country from a hustler nation to a wealthy and working nation.

Defending his sentiments, the former CS further alluded that, unlike Ruto’s hustler slogan which advocated for a hustling nation, his tradition championed for children to become leaders, warriors and wealthy.

“Wanakuja kusema tax people before they earn money, you tax people before they earn and that is why the purpose of our education must be now going forward to move the Kenyan nation from one of hecklers and hustlers to one of working. Sisi watu wa mlima Kenya tukiombea mtoto tuamuombea tunasema may he/she become a worrior (jamba), wealthy (gitonga) or a leader (mutongoria). We never pray that he/she becomes a hustler,” he said.

In the same breath, former Agriculture CS Peter Munya told off the government over the proposed taxation saying it was unrealistic to tax farmers before they made a profit.

He echoed Kagwe’s sentiments saying the ruling regime should have presented structures and procedures to assist farmers increase output before taxing them.

Farm Produce Tax

The recently proposed taxation policy which targets all Kenyan farmers will see each farmer pay a withholding agricultural produce tax of not more than 5 per cent of the value of the produce delivered to the market.

This, according to Treasury CS Njuguna Ndung’u, means that farmers will pay Ksh5 for every Ksh100 sales obtained.

CS Ndung’u defended the policy stating that the agricultural sector was undertaxed despite being the highest employer compared to other sectors.

“The Kenyan economy is dependent on the agricultural sector, contributing an average of 21.2% of the GDP and the highest employer compared to other sectors,” the CS said.

A section of leaders have come out to criticize the policy saying it will hurt farmers and that the government should reconsider the move before implementation.