All I want for Christmas is lower taxes

By Godfrey Mramba

The Christmas season is upon us once again, bringing with it traditions and festivities that serve to launch us into that merry spirit.

Maybe that means going to see a nativity play, or heading to your church for the Christmas Eve night vigils, or ‘mkesha wa Krismasi’. Maybe your family likes to throw Christmas parties complete with nyama choma, hymns and carols and Mariah Carey’s infamous ‘all I want for Christmas is you’.

Of course whatever those traditions are varies from country to country, person to person, but there is one common denominator. No matter where we are or how we choose to celebrate this holiday, we all agree that Christmas is a time for friends and family. Christmas is a time to get together with those we love, giving and giving and giving some more.

Now imagine you’ve gone out one night. You’ve brought your friends, and they’ve brought their friends, and because it’s that time of year where ‘the more the merrier’ actually rings true, when you see a few old friends at the bar you say ‘why not’ and invite them to sit with you. The atmosphere at your table, or is it two tables now, is alive with laughter and conversation, and really, you’ve never felt the Christmas spirit more than in that moment.

Then the waiter comes by.

“Another round?”

You don’t even pause. There’s not need. You’d glanced at the menu when you first sat down.

“Mpe, mpe, mpe” you say loudly. There’s a cheer from your group. Your friend next to you even pats you on the back.

“Sawa brother, but next round is on me” he laughs, raising his glass at the waiter.

The government hasn’t increased excise tax on beer for the past two years although it did so for Spirits in this year’s budget . Nevertheless, there is an overall increase of 4 per cent in the consumption of alcohol this year over last according to data published by the TRA. One could assume that consumption could have been higher if it weren’t for the increase in tax on spirits. As I stated in my ‘Will Santa Claus be kind to the taxman this time around?’ article in 2016, the numbers speak for themselves.

At the time, taxes were high, breweries struggled with declining beer, spirits and wine sales and revenues (tax) collected by the government had decreased. Now we see that the proof really is in the Christmas pudding, because once those taxes were reduced, government collections actually increased.

This Christmas in particular carries a lot of meaning for a lot of people. It’s the first one after the Covid-19 Pandemic that plagued most of 2020. Some African countries like Kenya have finally let go of curfew and gathering restrictions, and life is slowly starting to return to normal. It is a chance to reclaim the holiday. To bring back all those traditions and invite over all those friends you’ve been staying away from. To do it right this time, and usher in a New Year full of hope and endless possibilities.

Being able to buy a round of drinks for all your friends and family without having to ‘mpe, muruke’ (give him, skip him) as was the norm five years ago, is something that would not only help create that feeling of celebration and liberations as we forge on to a post-Covid-19 world, but now thanks to the data from the TRA we know that it would also benefit the government.

So let’s hope that all of us have been good enough this year to be granted this one Christmas wish. The luxury of actually being able to embrace this season of giving. By the way, if you are in Moshi today, join me at the Santa Banana Music Festival to celebrate the season and a year of hard work.

I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

The writer is Managing Partner at Basil & Alred. The views expressed do not necessarily represent those of Basil & Alred. Email: [email protected]