A week after President Uhuru banned the use of single-use plastic products in all protected areas in the country, Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich has proposed to exempt from VAT all services offered to plastic recycling plants during the 2019/2020 Budget reading.
The tax-exempt was further extended to the supply of machinery and equipment used in the construction of these recycling plants.
“Further, to encourage investment in plastic recycling, I propose to lower corporation tax to 15 percent for the first five years for any investor operating a plastic recycling plant,” Rotich said.
The war against plastic waste pollution started two years ago when Kenya banned the use, manufacture, and sale of environmentally harmful plastics, polythene bags, and packaging materials.
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The CS added that the move to exempt tax on plastic recyclers is aimed at supplementing President Uhuru Kenyatta’s directive which banned the use of single-use plastics in protected areas effective June 5, 2020.
With Kenya establishing itself as the leading assembler of electronics and computers in the East Africa region, the CS also proposed to exempt from VAT, locally manufactured motherboards and all inputs used in their manufacture.
“This will make them more competitive against imported motherboards” added the CS.
The development initiative is aimed at transforming Kenya into a major manufacturer and supplier of electronics and computers in the EAC.
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