Thread by @Ramah_Nyang

In order to provide jobs and provide some certainty for employers and their employees, Kenya's President orders:

[1] Treasury to move to parliament to seek 100% tax relief for anyone making up to KES 24 000.
[2] Reduction of the top Personal Income Tax rate from 30% to 25%

[3] Reduction of the top rate of Corporate Income Tax from 30% to 35%.
[4] Reduction of turnover tax rate from 3% to 1%. Covers MSMEs.
[5] Appropriation of KES 10 B for the elderly, orphans and other vulnerable groups, to be distributed via cash transfers.

[6] Temporary suspension of CRB listing of any person, MSME, and even corporate entities whose loan accounts fall due or is in arrears from April 1 2020.

[7] Effective April 1 2020, 200 bps cut in VAT rate from 16% to 14%.
[8] Payment of at least 30% of verified, pending supplier bills, by all ministries. "We encourage the private sector to clear all pending payments," Kenya's President says, within a 3-week period. #Covid19Kenya

[9] Kenya Revenue Authority directed to either pay down VAT refunds, or allow firms to offset that against other taxes due.
[1] KES 1 Billion to be appropriated to hire extra health workers as well, the President says. #Covid19Kenya

[10] PayCuts: 80% for the President and his Deputy. 30% for Cabinet Secretaries. 20% cut for Principal Secretaries. #Covid19Kenya

We're going to need some receipts to actually see this though. Not the first time Uhuru's spoken about paycuts.

[11] Missed some of the details on the work from home order affecting civil servants over 50 years of age, and in Job group S. #Covid19Kenya Will circle back to this one later on.

President now covers some of the monetary support measures already announced. Including the 100 bps cut in CBR by @CBKKenya, on Monday, March 23. CRR, as you will recall, was also cut by 100 bps, to 4.25%. #Covid19Kenya

Related observation: Income Tax [both personal and corporate] make up the largest segment of #Kenya's tax revenues - but it is also deeply concentrated. Banks + Safaricom, according to WB estimates, account for at last half of CIT. #Covid19Kenya

Average real earnings in the formal sector was around KES 38 000. Unclear what the median earnings were though, but I'm not certain how big a hit to Income Tax GoK is taking by providing this 100% tax relief to persons making under KES 24 000. #Covid19Kenya

It is, on paper, *very* straightforward for @KeTreasury to deliver on these tax cuts. Remember the October 2018 Income Tax Bill? Bring that back to the floor of the house with these measures. #Covid19Kenya

Uhuru Kenyatta: Curfew in effect from 7pm to 5am, effective Friday, March 27. #Covid19Kenya

Kenya Ferry Service management also being placed in the hands of the police and the Coastguard. Vital. #Covid19Kenya

Worth seeing what the list of essential personnel is. As a journalist, it's vital that we be able to move around in order to do our jobs. #Covid19Kenya

Social distancing, whether we like it or not, is our new normal. It is our way of life until this pandemic is over, the President says. #Covid19Kenya

Missing from this package of fiscal support measures:
[1] Nothing on debt restructuring efforts. Debt service is one of the largest components of public spending. @KeTreasury [and us, by extension], need every bit of fiscal breathing room we can get.

If we're still servicing bilateral and commercial grade debt *and* still fighting this pandemic and a locust infestation, we're shooting ourselves in the foot. #Covid19Kenya

Uhuru: let us not find ourselves being forced to take even sterner action. Says the country is here because guidelines issued by the Health Ministry are being ignored. #Covid19Kenya

If existing measures are not followed, he says, Govt will implement even sterner measures.

Re: payments. At the very least, this would mean cutting expenses in other parts of GoK. Missing details:

[1] What expenses are we scaling down/cutting? Transport and Infrastructure capital expenditure?
[2] All Capex, except for Health related ones?
#Covid19Kenya

More missing details:
GoK's not talking about how the cost of tests & treatment, is split?

Say, for argument's sake, I get Covid-19, which of these will pay for testing & treatment:

[1] @nhifkenya?
[2] @MOH_Kenya?
[3] My medical insurer?
[4] They split the bill?

More missing details.

The President's pushed for a 100% tax relief for anyone making < KES 24 000 per month, but does where does this leave statutory deductions to @NSSF_ke and @nhifkenya? Will either of these penalize Kenyans if they miss payments due to #Covid19?