The Football Kenya Federation has pleaded with the government to stop the reintroduction of the 20% excise tax bill on betting stakes.
The federation boss Nick Mwendwa urged the government to find other avenues of taxing the betting firms to avoid chasing sponsors away.
Initially, the bill was dropped after key stakeholders, including SportPesa, quit the Kenyan market in protest, but the state is now debating the topic in parliament.
The excise duty bill - that was republished last week after being submitted to the national assembly at the end of April - states that excise duty on betting will be 20% of the amount wagered or staked.
According to FKF president Nick Mwendwa if the bill is passed, football will stagnate in the country since most of their sponsors currently are betting firms.
“We ask the government to remember us football fraternity, instead of giving them huge tax to pay, which most of them are saying they cannot afford, we should not chase them away, we need to regulate how they operate but not by increasing tax.”the FKF President said
The exit of SportPesa in 2019 saw many Premier League clubs, including Gor Mahia and AFC Leopards struggle immensely, and Sony Sugar were relegated for giving out three walkovers due to lack of funds.
Mwendwa's remarks on opposing the excise duty bill came after Gor Mahia chairman Ambrose Rachier and his AFC Leopards counterpart Dan Shikanda the local sports stakeholders,had on Thursday June 10 weighed in on the proposed reintroduction of the tax through a joint statement released by both clubs.