National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich yesterday walked in parliament carrying the traditional budget briefcase to read the bad news for 2016/17 national budget.
Millions of women who use cosmetics will have to dig deeper into their pockets to purchase ‘beauty enhancers’ as Henry Rotich raised tax for these beauty products.
Rotich announced a 10 per cent increase tax on cosmetics. Cosmetics and beauty products were previously not subject to Excise Duty.
Rotich argued the 10% tax on cosmetic was necessary for Kenya as the move was geared towards the harmonization of the Excise Duty regime in the East Africa Community (EAC).
The CS argued that other countries within the EAC were taxing beauty products so Kenya had to follow suit.
The cost of taxation will be felt by ladies who are obsessed with makeup since it is obvious manufacturers will pass down the cost of tax deductions to the consumer.
