The Kenyan government has unveiled plans to increase taxes on both domestic and international air tickets in a bid to raise more funds for key state agencies.
A new bill tabled in parliament by National Assembly majority leader Kimani Ichung’wah proposes raising the Air Passenger Service Charge for international tickets from $40 to $50, and for domestic tickets from Sh500 ($3.87) to Sh600 ($4.65). The planned increases represent rises of 25% and 20% respectively.
If approved, the additional revenue will be allocated to two extra beneficiaries: the Tourism Fund and the Kenya Meteorological Service Authority.
At present, proceeds from the levy are directed to the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) and the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA).
The move comes as the government seeks to streamline financing for tourism-related projects by merging the Tourism Fund with the Tourism Promotion Fund, which has traditionally received 20% of passenger charge revenues.
The bill states this will “limit duplication of roles, improve efficiency, and enable the government to support the financing of tourism-related projects from a single source”.
It also proposes allocating funds to the Meteorological Service Authority to support its core operations, though it remains unclear whether this will supplement or replace its existing government budget.
Air passenger charges in Kenya have remained unchanged for 13 years. The last adjustment doubled the international levy to $20 and raised the domestic charge to Sh300 ($2.32).
Kenya’s proposal follows a similar move by neighbouring Tanzania, which earlier this month introduced a new $45 tax on one-way international tickets, raising the cost of travel to and from the country.
