From today 1st Tuesday December 2015, Kenyans are going to start paying more for fruit juices, cigarettes, beer, soda, bottled water, wine, fuel as well as imported second-hand cars and motorcycles as the Excise Duty takes effect.
According to the new taxes now, bottled water will increase in price after an excise tax increase of 10 shillings, those who depend on diesel will have to cough out 3.7 shillings more per liter while those who use petrol will have to put up with an increase of 10.3 shillings per liter.
Beer lovers have not been spared for from today, every liter of beer will attract an excise duty of 100 shillings. Those who think they will divert to powdered beer are not safe either for every kilo of powdered beer will attract an excise duty of 100 shillings as from today.
If you are thinking of quitting drinking beer and graduating of taking wine, you better think again. From today, wines including fortified wines, and other alcoholic beverages obtained by fermentation of fruits will attract a tax of 150 shillings per every liter.
What about going for spirits? You better remain with the beer for as from today, spirits, liqueurs and other spirituous beverages of alcoholic strength exceeding 10 per cent will attract an excise tax of 175 shillings per every liter.
Those trying to get rid of the smoking habit by using electronic smokers are in for paying more after an excise duty of 3000 shillings per unit takes effect today. Those cigarettes containing tobacco or tobacco substitutes will now increase by 2500 shillings for a mill.
Secondhand car lovers have been hard hit. Secondhand motor vehicles that are less than three old from the date of first registration will now attract a duty of 150,000 shillings per unit while those more than three years old will attract an excise duty of 200,000 shillings per unit.
Those interested in starting operating bodaboda business will have to dig deeper into their pockets for motorcycles will now attract an excise duty of 10,000 shillings while the price of plastic shopping bags has gone up by 120 shillings per kilo. Food supplements will now attract an increase duty of 10 per cent.
During the month of November, it was noted that inflation rose to 7.32 per cent year-on-year from the previous 6.72 per cent. This was facilitated by the increase in food prices. This was according to the statistics released by Kenya National Bureau of Statistics. Between the month of October and November too, the index of food as well as that of non-alcoholic drinks increased by 1.08 per cent.
This Excise Duty will effectively drive inflation up and beyond the common citizen’s reach. The government decided to take these drastic measures amid claims by the opposition that the government is actually broke. The decision to hike taxes, merely a move to cover those gaps.