Kenya’s Finance and National Planning Committee of the country’s National Assembly has reviewed the Treasury’s version of a new Finance Bill and made some serious tweaks.
Most significant for the gambling industry is that the present tax rate of 7.5% on betting stakes will remain, and the government will not adopt the proposed new 20% tax rate.
In its arguments, the Committee said that there hadn’t been enough time to review the effects of the 7.5% rate since it has been in place for less than a year.
“The committee observed that excise duty on gaming activities had been increased in the Finance Act, 2021 and there is therefore need to give the sector time before taxes are increased,” it wrote. “The committee therefore recommends that the amendment be deleted.”
In 2019, the government raised the tax on betting stakes from 10% to 20%, which saw a number of big names such as Betin and Sportspesa withdraw from the market.
There have been many ‘backwards and forwards’ of this rate by government officials since then.
15% on Gambling Advertising Spend
Treasury also wanted to introduce a 15% tax on gambling advertising spend, and this was also nixed by the Finance and National Planning Committee.
In this regard, the committee said that there are already regulations in place which regulate advertising of gaming activities in Kenya and therefore more regulations were simply “not necessary”