Renowned content creator Timothy Kimani, popularly known as Njugush, has impressed Kenyans with his remarks on the new taxes contained in the Finance Bill 2024 proposed by the government.
Njugush weighed in on how taxation is affecting the business, entertainment industry and citizens in general.
Speaking in an interview on The Big conversation, Njugush emphasized that Kenyans do not have a problem with tax collection but rather how the government spends it.
“We don’t have a problem in terms of collection, we have a problem in spending. The government we have has people who don’t seem to know what they are doing,” Njugush said.
He further called out government experts stating that they were aware of what needs to be said but they are choosing to stay mum.
“It’s such a pity for an expert, because the guys in the government studio are experts per excellence but the government have made them sound, for lack of a better word, with all due respect, dumb, that’s why they are trying to find themselves because there’s something, they know how it’s supposed to be said but they can’t say it and you don’t have to be the sharpest tool in the room to know things are not right,” he remarked.
Njugush also referenced remarks made by Githunguri Member of Parliament Gathoni Wamuchomba highlighting that the average Kenyan does not understand the issues at hand.
“….and I want to go back to what madam Wamuchomba said, she’s my MP (Member of Parliament) that the mwananchi (citizen) doesn’t understand. Kenyans understand. They might not understand it in billions, but they know things are not right,” he added.
Njugush Schools Experts on Taxation
Njugush went on to discuss the challenges faced by content creators and other industries due to taxation.
He outlined the various taxes he pays as a business owner including, corporate tax (30%), VAT (16%) and 5% withholding payable by the client to KRA.
“So, when we say we want to collect a certain amount of money, again you don’t have to be the sharpest tool in the room to know, if you move me out of production, for example in content creation, there’s someone who said, people who don’t pay are the ones who are being targeted,” he said.
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He also pointed out that he pays for National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF), National Social Security Fund (NSSF) and National Industrial Training Authority (NITA).
“It’s funny that the former NITA boss was in court because of corruption,” he said.
Finance Bill to hinder production
Njugush also pointed out how production has been affected due to the government’s over taxation on production instead of aiding it.
He also touched on the closure of companies due to corrupt officials who ask for bribes forcing manufacturers to flee to other countries.
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“The government that we have, has people who, again I don’t have nice words to say, but they don’t seem to know what they’re doing, they found themselves there and then they’re unsure of what to do and that’s why an expert will sound that way because someone somewhere opted for an easy way out,” Njugush said.
Njugush pointed out the success of Rwanda as a comparison saying, “Look at what Rwanda is doing, Rwanda is a small country but look at what is happening down there.”
He concluded by criticizing the current government’s approach and suggesting a better focus on aiding production.
“They could have aided in terms of production to ensure I’m in production, manufacturers and the guys who are in the transport industry are in production because if they tax all of us now, who will they tax next year? Maybe they’ll go to where Kuria is talking about,” he concluded.
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