BBI Proposes 7-Year Tax Holiday for Kenyan Startup Businesses

The recently launched Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) report has proposed tax exemptions for startup businesses in the country.

The report, which was launched by President Kenyatta on Wednesday, recommends a seven-year tax holiday for young people running startups. This means that small and medium enterprises run by young people will be exempted from paying taxes for the first seven years of operation.

The BBI taskforce notes that the business environment in Kenya was discouraging young people from pursuing self-employment through entrepreneurship. The report further states that the current trend in the Kenyan economy does not provide enough employment opportunities hence the need to encourage self-employment through tax incentives.

“Develop and launch national ease of doing a business index for small Kenyan businesses rather than relying on foreign indexes that are designed for global comparisons. This should be a comparative annual assessment by KNBS that is segregated by geography -counties, cities, and towns and is publicized” the report says.

Further to this, it proposes a flat income rate for the different tax brackets for those earning taxable income.