Rangwe Member of Parliament Lilian Gogo has urged the government to rescind its plans to introduce a value-added tax on milk and bread.
Gogo said that the planned taxes were likely to lead to a spike in malnutrition cases in the country as the new prices were likely to be beyond the means of many households.
The legislator was reacting to reported plans by the national treasury to introduce a value-added tax of 16 percent on bread and milk.
Gogo made the remarks today when she opened five classrooms constructed through the support of national government constituency development funds (NG-CDF) at Bondo Primary School at a cost of Ksh. 7 million.
Gogo said the majority of Kenyans will not afford to purchase the heavily taxed bread and milk.
Dr Gogo said the situation will lead to health issues among financially challenged households.
“The government is in a new move of imposing the value-added tax on milk and bread. This is injurious to the well-being of Kenyans,” Gogo said.
She said the high cost of living will deter many families from accessing bread and milk.
“Majority of Kenyans are people of low income. This tax will make many Kenyans unable to purchase bread and milk which is the preferred breakfast. It therefore means the government is going to cause malnutrition in Kenya,” Gogo said.
The MP told the government to look for ways of reducing taxes on essential commodities such as food items, sanitary products, and animal feeds. She argued doing so will reduce the cost of living.
“I am urging the government to focus on ways of reducing the cost of living instead of the taxation being talked about,” she added.
Dr Gogo said her stewardship of the constituency was prioritizing in education to ensure that the young people grow up as productive and reliable constituents.
She said the construction of the classrooms is aimed at improving academic standards in the school.
“Let all stakeholders work together in supporting education to ensure we have a productive population in the future,” Dr Gogo said.