This archive report was first published on 21 October 2019.
Published on October 21, 2019, Betin's decision to shut down its operations in Kenya has left thousands of employees without jobs.
The firm, which has been locked in a tax dispute with the Kenyan government, has cited the government's hard stance as the reason for its decision to issue notices of redundancy to its staff.
According to Betin, the government's introduction of a 20 per cent withholding tax and a new 20 per cent excise duty through the Finance Act 2019 has rendered its business untenable.
“These policy changes are globally unprecedented and clearly prohibitive to the ongoing commercial existence of the industry,” Betin said.
The firm has also denied allegations of tax avoidance, stating that it has fully complied with tax contributions.
“The claim that we have been avoiding paying tax is false, erroneous and affront to our business values. The KRA and Treasury are misguided in their interpretation of the term ‘winnings’ and as a result, has demanded sums of the money that simply don’t exist,” Betin said.
