Nakuru County Assembly passes Bill to cut levies

Most of the levies that were being charged by the county government of Nakuru have been lowered after the Nakuru County Assembly passed the County Finance Bill that will become effective in 2017.

The chairman of the finance committee in the assembly and Nyota Ward Member of County Assembly (MCA), Njuguna Gichamu, said that the county government aims to collect Ksh2.5 billion in revenue next year.

He further added that business people are among the biggest beneficiaries of the Bill since charges for single business permits have been lowered by between 15 per cent and 30 per cent – depending on the business category.

Bicycle boda boda operators who were previously being charged Ksh400 per month will not be charged any fee for operating their businesses in 2017, however, they will be required to obey traffic rules.

Bar owners on the other hand who had been pushing to have charges lowered for single business permits have failed in their bid.

Gichamu maintains that the move to lower most charges was driven by the fact that the higher the county government levies fees, the greater the chance of people evading tax through dubious means.

The Bill once signed by Nakuru Governor Kinuthia Mbugua will take effect in 2017.

Written by Eddy Ashioya