Court hands State chance to tackle fears of housing tax

Let’s face it. There is a narrow line between political and sports news these days. This week saw the Housing Fund Levy rapidly turn into a boxing match for protagonists as powerful as bantamweight boxers Fatuma Zarika and Catherine Phiri.

Since December 2018, a court order obtained by the Federation of Kenya Employers (FKE) and others has held up the roll out of the Housing levy Fund. In violation of that court order, this Tuesday the Housing Ministry and Kenya Revenue Authority directed that employers and employees would start remitting 1.5 per cent of their basic salaries and employer contributions to the National Housing Development Fund in three weeks.