The excise taxes on beer and cigarettes, both fundamental products in this tax category, are experiencing a downward trajectory, indicating a decline in consumption. Conversely, revenues from other items within the same tax segment have seen an increase.

Excise taxes, essentially charges imposed on the sale of specific goods or services, have exhibited contrasting trends. Over the past five years, there has been a 0.5 percent decrease in excise taxes from beer and an 8.2 percent reduction from cigarettes. In contrast, a Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) report reveals a substantial increase in taxes collected from airtime and financial transactions, more than doubling over the same period.

The excise duty on airtime surged by an impressive 117.6 percent, reaching Sh39 billion between 2018 and 2022. Simultaneously, revenues from the excise tax on financial transactions experienced remarkable growth, increasing by 120.6 percent to Sh40.9 billion during the same timeframe.

This trend unfolds amid ongoing discussions about potentially excluding non-harmful products from the list subject to excise duty. Originally designed to discourage the consumption of harmful items, the debate centers on whether certain products should be exempted from these taxes.