Cost of Cooking Gas in Kenya: Kenyans will start paying Sh. 300 more for cooking gas from July 1 this year. This is after the government resolved to introduce a fresh value added tax on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). The tax has been set by the National Treasury at 14 per cent through the Finance Bill 2020 that has removed liquefied petroleum gas from the category of goods that are exempted from tax.
This decision has raised queries on the government’s commitment to ease the cost of living at a time when the country is grappling with an economic slowdown. Over the past few years, cooking gas has emerged as one of the basic commodities among Kenyan households.
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This means that the 6 kilogram cooking gas that retails at between Sh. 750 and Sh. 1,000 will shoot to between Sh. 1,050 and Sh. 1,300. In the same vein, all businesses will be expected to pay a “patriotic tax” just for being registered in Kenya at the rate of a percentage point of their revenues regardless of whether they booked a profit or loss.
“Whereas these tax incentives are well intended, they have limited the capacity of government to fund critical expenditures,” National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani said. “In addition, a critical review of the incentives shows that consumers have not benefited through a commensurate reduction in the cost of goods and services.” Cost of Cooking Gas in Kenya.