Open Air preachers in Siaya to pay more in new tax proposals

A section of El'Molo Crocodile park in Siaya.PHOTO/ISAIAH GWENGI

Preachers will have to dig deeper into their pockets to hire stadiums or sports grounds for their crusades if the county assembly approves the Finance Bill 2017.

Under the proposed law, religious leaders will be required to pay Sh20,000 daily to use lawns maintained by the county government.

Lunch time preachers will be required to pay Sh1,000 per hour.

The new charges are likely to spark protests from many preachers across the county.

Those who hire grounds for political rallies and related activities will pay Sh30,000 higher than those using them for charitable events.

According to the bill, which is expected to come up for debate next week, flagging-off ceremonies from the dais that do not exceed two hours will cost Sh4,000 per hour. This service has been free of charge.

And in a new twist, boda boda operators, who have not been paying taxes, will now be forced to pay Sh50 per month.

But cage fish farmers are among those who have gained from the proposed law as they will taxed less than before.

Those who own between one and five cages will pay a Sh2,500 fee, down from Sh5,000, while those with more than 10 cages will now pay Sh10,000.

Individuals who own hatcheries will pay Sh5,000.

Fishermen applying for fish movement permits will pay Sh2,000 in the new bill while a fish trading licence will cost Sh200.

Other taxes that have been retained include proposals that those wishing to exhume the dead will pay Sh50,000 for an adult and Sh30,000 for a child.

Those wishing to exhume infants will pay Sh20,000.

Reserving a grave will now cost Sh1,000 for adults and Sh500 for children.

According to the Draft Finance Bill 2017, residents visiting cemeteries for memorials will pay Sh1,500.

The bill also proposes a Sh4,000 cost for private postmortems.