Wycliffe Oparanya plans to tax chicken, and the dead

By BRYAN TUMWA

Kakamega County: The County Government of Kakamega will levy taxes on livestock if the county assembly ratifies the proposed Tax Bill, 2013.

Urban residents will have to part with Sh500 for keeping cows, goats and sheep for every single animal in each category. A levy of Sh20 will also be charged for each chicken kept in an urban area.

Owners of horses and dogs will be required to obtain licences for their animals at Sh5,000 and Sh1,000 respectively.

Sugarcane ferrying will also be subjected to taxation with a load of over eight tonnes attracting a charge of Sh1,500 while heavy sugarcane trucks passing through will be required to pay Sh1,000.

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The County has three sugar millers namely Mumias, Butali and West Kenya, which account for most of the sugarcane traffic on its roads.

Residents will be required to pay for space for private burial, which will cost Sh5,000 for an adult and Sh2,000 for a child. The fees for burying an adult will additionally cost Sh5,000 while that of a child will be Sh3,000. Unclaimed bodies will be buried at a charge of Sh10,000, according to the proposed law.

Owners of motorcycles including bodaboda operators will be required to pay Sh50 every day for parking while a saloon car or pick-up truck will be charged Sh100 for the same service. Parking a bus or trailer will cost Sh300 each day.

The Finance Bill that will legalise the taxes to be imposed by the county government of Kakamega has already gone through the first reading at the county assembly and is set to be debated later in the week.

The Bill was introduced to the County Assembly last Wednesday during the first plenary session of the house this year.

Speaker Morris Buluma said the Bill would be discussed in the house on Thursday following scrutiny by the Budget and Appropriations committee, which has proposed amendments to the Bill.

“The Bill shall be considered by the house on Thursday. It is already generating a lot of heat out there but this house has to perform its duty according to the procedure set out in law,” said Mr Buluma.

The budget for the current financial year was set at Sh13.2 billion with Sh3.5 billion expected to be collected from local revenue streams.