Fasten your belts: Items whose prices are set for increase

Kenyans will have to dig deeper into their pockets to buy certain items when the new tax regime and inflation adjustment is effected.

The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) revealed in a statement Thursday that only petroleum products will be exempted from the expected increase in excise tax .

“It will affect excisable products other than petroleum products. All the other excisable products, we will make the adjustments. The only category we are going to leave out is petroleum products because of the currently very high prices of fuel,” KRA Commissioner General Githii Mburu stated during the launch of the 2022 Taxpayers’ month.

To be affected by the adjustment include bottled water, beer, juices, wine, tobacco products and chocolate.

Other goods affected are the popular motorcycles, toothpaste, imported sim cards, telephone and internet data services, imported sugar, fees charged for money transfer services and fees charged by financial institutions.

“The specific rates will be adjusted using the average inflation rate for the financial year 2021/2022 of six decimal three per centum (6.3 per cent), as determined by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, and the adjusted specific rates will be effective from October 1, 2022,” said the taxman.