Uhuru in key talks as Raila's party piles pressure over fuel tax

President Uhuru Kenyatta

President Uhuru Kenyatta is today (Tuesday) expected to meet a team working to resolve the standoff over new fuel taxes.

This even as Opposition party ODM piled pressure on the Head of State to sign the Finance Bill into law.

Sources told The Standard Treasury and Parliament officials alongside officers from the State Law office were today (Tuesday) scheduled to brief the President on the 16 per cent Value Added Tax on petroleum products, which has sparked public outrage. 

Monday, ODM urged President Kenyatta to sign to law the Bill suspending the new taxes on fuel to spare Kenyans the agony of high cost of living.

Parliament passed an amended Finance BillB in which they postponed the new tax by two years and removed two other revenue streams for Government- one a fee on salaried workers to fund housing scheme and another a fee on high bank transactions. 

High taxation

ODM Secretary General Edwin Sifuna also warned the Jubilee administration against over-borrowing and overspending resulting in high taxation.

“It is worth reminding the Government that when it chooses to over-borrow and over-spend, without due consideration for the suffering of the people and a shrinking economy, it should find other means to deal with its shortsightedness and allow the citizens to nurse their pain in peace,” said Mr Sifuna.

In a statement, the ODM official criticised other leaders saying it would be hypocritical for them to remain silent in the face of economic genocide, “for tomorrow we may not find anyone to lead". Last week the High Court suspended implementation of 16 per cent VAT.