The government has proposed taxation on wigs, eyelashes, false beards, and nails among other beauty products to increase revenue.
In a Bill tabled before the parliament, National Treasury Cabinet Secretary (CS) Njuguna Ndung'u said beauty products will be subjected to a five per cent taxation so as to raise revenue.
Ndung'u also proposed an amendment to Section 5 of the Income Tax Act to ensure that cash allowances were duly taxed.
“One such instance is the amount paid to an employee when outside their usual place of work but on official duty, also known as per diem. In this case, the first KSh2,000 paid to an employee per day is not taxable. It is treated as reimbursement of expenses,” the government explained in the 2021 tax plan.
“Where such an amount is received by an employee as payment of travelling allowance to perform official duties, the standard mileage rate approved by the Automobile Association of Kenya shall be deemed to be reimbursement of the amount so expended and shall be excluded in the calculation of the employee’s gains and profits,” CS Njuguna stated.
According to the CS, the proposal creates room for the government to have a mandate to work with employers by creating a system that ensures that workers pay an equal share.
Ndung'u has also proposed that Digital content creators are subjected to a withholding tax of 15 per cent on the revenue they collect.
