Plans are underway to amend the capital markets law and introduce a 20% excise tax on every crypto transaction fee, in a move widely seen as an ineffective strategy by the new government to reduce foreign borrowing by expanding the domestic tax net. If the bill is approved by parliament, Kenyans will be subjected to remitting capital gains tax or income tax to the Kenya Revenue Authority for the sale or use of crypto. By introducing the law, Kenya, whose central bank has been cautioning citizens against the use and trade of crypto, will be following in the footsteps of Ethiopia, which first banned crypto before regulating it. Singapore-based crypto research company TripleA estimates the number of crypto traders in Kenya at 6.1 million, out of a population of close to 55 million people. On social media, the outrage is more amplified, with many users concerned that the government is only interested in taxing the space and not regulating it fully, to protect traders.
SOURCE: QUARTZ AFRICA