Exhuming bodies, street preaching, taking photos with your smart phone and hawking food will cost you more under new taxes proposed by counties.
In Siaya, street preachers will pay Sh20,000 upfront per day to use lawns maintained by the county government if the Finance Bill 2018 is approved.
Lunch time preachers are expected to part with Sh1,000 per hour in a county estimated to have about 100 such preacher.
Also to be billed per hour are organisers of charitable events with flagging-off ceremonies charged Sh4,000 per hour.
Exhuming a body will cost Sh50,000 for an adult, Sh30,000 for a child, and an infant Sh20,000).
Motorists used to free parking now have to budget for an additional expense as the Bill proposes introduction of off-street parking in the town centre and on the outskirts.
Private saloon cars will be charged Sh50, buses Sh200 per trip, pick-ups Sh100 and private car parks with a capacity of over 200 vehicles will pay Sh20,000.
Street hawkers will now have to pay Sh400 per month.
In Makueni, owners of casinos will be required to pay Sh30,000 a month as the county government looks to improve revenues to finance the Sh8.9 billion budget.
A Sh100 fee is proposed for those taking photographs using their mobile phones. It is unclear whether this affects selfies and how this will be enforced.
For a region popular with its local musicians fond of performing with live bands, an entertainment permit of Sh1,000 per night will be required.
According to Finance Executive Mary Kimanzi, local operators of film/video shows will pay Sh1,500 per day.
In Nairobi, supermarkets and shopping malls will surrender a share of proceeds from private car parks and sale of packaging bags to shoppers as the county looks for new revenue streams to finance Sh32 billion budget.
Private car parks which have become a common business for open spaces within the city are also targeted.
“It is unfair that shoppers pay for bags even after spending heftily. I will also be proposing a fee for private parking firms that charge their customers hourly parking rates,” said acting Finance Executive Charles Kerich.
Faced with complaints about heaps of garbage, the county wants residents to pay for disposal of waste.
Property owners will also be slapped with higher land rates with a valuation of properties expected soon.
Kerich noted that the last time land rates were reviewed was in 1982.
In Nyeri, where residents love to enjoy soup and mutura from eateries with open kitchens, including by the road side, the county government wants to make more money from such traders.
There is public outrage over the proposal in the Finance Bill 2018 that locals feel is likely to increase the cost of the delicacies.
The county proposes introduction of Sh8,000 licence fee to butchers who sell take away meals such as roast meat or soup in urban areas. Those operating in rural areas will be charged Sh5,000.
Other proposals that raised eyebrows include a Sh2 tax to have a rabbit or chicken slaughtered.
Residents are also expected to pay Sh5 for their chickens or rabbits to be inspected by veterinary services.
Fish and poultry stalls will also pay Sh2,000 if the new taxes are approved.
Churches intending to hold crusades in Nyeri might have to pay Sh8,000 for venues in towns and Sh 5,000 in rural areas.
And it could also become more expensive to own a donkey in Nyeri. The county proposes to increase the fee for a donkey permit from Sh 500 per animal to Sh 2,000.
“We would like to assure Nyeri residents that no new charges are being introduced. However, those who have not been paying must be made to pay,” said executive for finance and economic planning Robert Thuo.
Small-scale traders in Murang’a, including those selling mutura and sausages will pay a daily levy of Sh30 up from Sh20.
Those dealing with second-hand shoes at Mukuyu market claimed they have been paying Sh30 but county government revenue attendants have since increased levy to Sh50 per day.
“The small-scale traders will be hard hit and devolution will lose its meaning,” said Janis Wambui, a shoe trader at the market.
Matatu owners also protested increase in monthly payment to Sh2,500 from Sh1,500 as illegal.
In Trans-Nzoia, the government wants to squeeze cash from women who roast maize by the roadside.
Grace Simiyu said the Sh40 per day fee will take nearly half her earnings.
“I only manage to make between Sh80 and Sh150 as profit even after sitting here from morning to evening. The Sh40 tax is high and unaffordable to most of us. The authorities should consider reducing it,” Simiyu argues.
John Ekai, a shoe shiner along Kenyatta Street said: “The business is good during the rainy season. However, it drops during the dry season and paying Sh40 as tax will be an uphill task.”
In Nandi, supplies and distributor’s licences have been introduced for those moving in goods from outside the county.
Samuel Seronei, the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry county branch chairman, said the measures make it expensive for business people.
Boda boda riders in Vihiga County will also have to pay Sh200 in monthly taxes.
Governor Wilber Ottichilo said he had consulted with their leaders and agreed on the modalities under which they will be paying the taxes.
Dr Ottichilo said the fact that their leaders agreed to pay the taxes indicated their maturity and understanding of how the government works.
“We will in turn use the money to construct better roads and build boda boda sheds for them. Five per cent of the taxes will be channelled to the Saccos where they are members so they can use the money to improve their businesses,” said Ottichilo.
[Report by Josphat Thiongo, Osinde Obare, Bakari Ange’la, Stephen Nzioka, Isaiah Gwengi, Harold Odhiambo, Erick Abuga, Dalton Nyabundi, Lydiah Nyawira, Eric Lungai and Boniface Gikandi]
