Kenyans should feel sufficiently philanthropic to pay tax

By Kenfrey Kiberenge
Finance Minister Njeru Githae is a bright man. Having watched his predecessors at the Treasury over the years cleverly target the oil industry as their prime source of revenue, he decided to fish elsewhere.

I say clever because the ministers knew that everything in Kenya is somehow a product of petroleum translating into a larger tax base. This time, though, Githae appreciated it would be improper to raid the oil sector again.

But since he had to come up with a clever way of getting everybody to pay taxes, he went for the landlords!

Unless you have Mother Teresa as your landlady, then it would be naïve to think that landlords will absorb the taxes from the current rental fees you are paying.

Until I came to London, UK, I used to bristle with rage each time there was an increment in taxes on things I knew would affect me.

But my two-week stay here so far has made me appreciate why a majority of people in the West are proud taxpayers!

Compared to Nairobi, day-to-day life in London is quite easy. With super fast Internet available almost everywhere, it is easy to go online and estimate the amount of time it will take you moving from one point to another.

This has been made possible by an elaborate underground electric railway system that skirts any possibility of traffic jam.

The lines are constantly serviced; stations are fitted with working air conditioners and CCTV cameras and excellent signage to help passengers find suitable trains.

As if that is not enough, the city boasts countless double decker buses with dedicated bus lanes to complement the trains.

Police officers are well paid and groomed, translating into more security for the city. Potholes are also quickly filled up. In addition, every house has running water and electricity and Britain’s public healthcare is one of the best structured in the world.

But to enjoy these services, Britons have to pay through their nose, which puts London among the most comfortable, yet most expensive, cities to live in the world.

Picture this: transport alone could cost you up to Sh34, 000 (£250) a month, a 200gms packet of peanuts costs Sh216 (£1.6) in a ‘super save’ supermarket while a haircut costs up to Sh1,350 (£10).

Working with these rough figures, factor in a 20 per cent value added tax on most items and explain to me why they won’t have surplus to lend or grant to struggling economies like ours. I am not ignorant to the fact that income here is higher than Kenya.

It is true the average gross pay for a train driver is Sh470,000 (£3,500) per month: and a Briton can afford to buy three newspapers everyday each at a cost of Sh160 (£1.20). It is also true that iPads, iPhones and Blackberries are common here.

But at our level, we can inculcate a tax-paying culture, which is a perfect recipe to break from our peers in the region.

But before Githae and the Government celebrate an endorsement of high taxes, I must say that transparency and accountability are part and parcel of the deal.

While we could not summon the President or the Prime Minister to testify before any commission of inquiry following the deadly post-2007 election violence, here at the Leveson inquiry into a phone-hacking scandal, UK’s PM David Cameron, his deputy Nick Clegg and other senior Government officials faced embarrassing questions including queries about SMSes they had sent.

With my new experience, I feel “philanthropically sufficient” to volunteer extra taxes to the Kenya Revenue Authority.

However, due to the thieving tendencies where the Executive has the audacity to openly rob poor taxpayers to service the taxes for rich MPs et al, I will continue paying the standard rate, more so, because I can’t avoid it.

The writer works for The Standard and is winner of the David Astor Journalism Award 2012. He is on a fellowship programme with ‘The Independent’ in London, UK.