Nandi Senator Samson Cherargey, Wajir Senator ali Abdullahi and Nominated Senator Rose Nyamunga have pleaded with the government to exempt athletes competing abroad from double taxation.
In today’s contribution in the senate on the Anti-Doping Bill, urged President Uhuru Kenyatta to reconsider the thorny issue among athletes.
He said that it is so painful when our young people are running hard through their sweat and blood, they win and then they are taxed.
“This is bad because they are taxed by the host countries and back at home as well and then you want them to be Brand Kenya,” said Cherargey.
Abdullahi requested Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) to come up with a workable solution that would otherwise protect the athletes from losing a huge chunk of their winnings through taxes.
He suggested that in the meantime, the money being taxed should instead be put in a fund which would cater for the athletes’ welfare in the event they encounter challenges in their careers.
Nyamunga said it was unfair that the government was inconsiderate and called for a speedy resolution on the matter.
“It is very important that taxes should be taken at point of origin, if somebody goes and competes in another country that is where the taxes should be paid. It should not be double payment of taxation,” she said.
The double taxation headache has seen several high-profile Kenyan runners switch their nationalities in recent years, currently Kenya has double taxation agreement with 15 countries that have set out terms and rules of how income or profits of cross border transactions are to be treated by the two countries so that the taxpayers do not end up paying tax twice on the same income.
Additional reporting Capital FM