3.1 Public finance

• The meaning, importance and sources of public finance
• The meaning and importance of taxation
• Principles of taxation
• Tax compliance in Kenya
• Persons and goods exempt from tax
• Types of customs duty
• Trends and ethical issues in taxation

• explain the importance of public finance in Kenya
• assess the concept of taxation in Kenya
• analyse the types of customs duties in Kenya
• evaluate the trends in taxation in Kenya
• identify ethical issues in taxation
• write an article on the importance of taxation in Kenya to sensitize the community
• appreciate the role of public finance in Kenya

“What is the role of taxation in economic development?”

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1. Public finance and taxation
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   What public finance is and why it matters, the sources of government money, and the meaning, importance and principles of taxation.
2. Sources of public finance
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   The six places government money comes from, what each is good for, and the limit built into each one.
3. Public spending and the budget cycle
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   How a budget is planned, approved, spent and audited, and the two offices that watch the money.
4. Why governments tax
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   The four purposes of taxation, and why they pull against each other.
5. The principles of a good tax
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   Six tests a tax can be judged against, applied to VAT and PAYE, and why no tax passes them all.
6. Direct taxes in Kenya
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   PAYE, corporation tax, capital gains tax, rental income tax and turnover tax - who pays each, and how each is collected.
7. Indirect taxes and how VAT works
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   How value added tax moves along a supply chain, why each business remits only its own share, and who really pays.
8. Exempt, zero rated, and who is relieved from tax
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   The difference between zero rating and exemption, and the persons and goods treated differently under Kenyan tax law.
9. Who really carries the tax
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   Progressive, proportional and regressive taxes, worked with real figures, and why the rate is not the burden.
10. Tax compliance, customs duties, and the ethics of tax
    40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
    How to comply with tax in Kenya, who and what is exempt, the types of customs duty, the trends in taxation, and the ethical difference between avoiding and evading tax.
11. Types of customs duty
    40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
    Import, export, transit, excise and anti-dumping duties, how the amount is set, and the East African common tariff.
12. Trends in taxation, and writing about them
    40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
    Digital filing, taxing online trade, widening the net and rising debt - and how to write a clear article about tax for the public.