Kenya in tea tax review to boost local industry
Kenya is looking at ways to reduce the tax burden on tea production in a bid to boost the local industry and ensure a competitive playing field with neighboring countries. The world's largest black tea exporter is reviewing the 1% levy on tea sold at the Mombasa auction and the 16% value-added tax on local tea processing and consumption. This comes in response to claims that Kenyan tea is at a disadvantage compared to teas from other African countries sold at the same auction site since these are not subject to the same taxes and levies. Farmers complain that they do not benefit from high auction prices and export volumes. Kenya earned about $1.24 billion from tea exports in 2015 on output of nearly 400 million kilograms.