NAIROBI, Sept 7, 2018 (News Wires) - Kenya's economic growth momentum for this year could be snuffed out if a widely unpopular 16 per cent Value Added Tax on fuel is maintained, the country's chamber of commerce said on Friday, pointing at higher prices of goods and transport. The tax, which came into force on Sept. 1, is part of a government bid to boost revenue collection in order to narrow its fiscal deficit and secure an extension of a standby credit facility from the International Monetary Fund. The High Court Thursday ordered a temporary suspension of the tax, but prices at petrol stations visited by Reuters on Friday had not come back down. "We are asking the government to re-think its options for financing its development and recurrent expenditure instead of overtaxing various products that already bear large tax burdens," the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI) said in a statement. The Treasury could not immediately be reached for comment.
