We survived coronavirus but it looks like we’ll die of taxation

January has long been nicknamed Njaanuary in Kenya due to the lack of money in many people's pockets. But the Kenya Revenue Authority seems to have rubbed salt in the wound with the introduction of the Digital Service Tax.

This comes amid a global pandemic that has seen close to two million Kenyans lose their jobs and businesses. Some moved their businesses online in a bid to earn some money. Then the KRA went after them.

This is the worst time for Kenyans to be burdened with more taxes. We all understand that the government needs money to function.

The problem is the usage of those taxes. In a situation where the government actually delivers services, we would gladly oblige, even if they decided to tax everything because, ultimately, we know we wouldn't have to pay for education, healthcare and infrastructure.

In the past seven years we have had arguably the most inefficient government since independence, to the extent that they had to form a portal to show us what they have done.

President Uhuru Kenyatta this past week told us that his government loses Sh2 billion every day to corruption. We have reached a point where corruption is no longer something the government is fighting, but something it has accepted.

So, in essence, the money that KRA is collecting is not going to fund any important service but in officials’ pockets.

It is one thing to die because of a virus that has defeated even the most developed of countries, but it is another to die by taxation. The collected money is going to fund people's campaigns, including perhaps the violence. Simply, we could be funding our own demise.

Is this really what we want for ourselves? Or is it time we said enough is enough?

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