The prices of second-hand clothes (commonly known as Mivumba), and other second-hand garments like shoes, are set to skyrocket astronomically starting June. All courtesy of government’s introduction of hefty new taxes on the commodities.
The new tax government is introducing on second-hand garments is called ‘Environmental levy,’ and it has been set at 20% of the total value of each second-hand garment that will be entering the country. The tax has already been approved by parliament in the ongoing ‘Finance Bill’ debate.
Significantly, the new tax will make second-hand garments (Mivumba) to pay a total tax of 95% of their purchase value in order to enter the country, because already the garments have been paying a separate 75% tax. And this means the prices of the garments on the local market will have to almost double.
Explaining the development, Finance Minister Matia Kasaija says that it is all part of a joint policy being implemented by all East African Community member countries, where they are raising taxes on second-hand garments with a view to finally stopping them from entering the region in a matter of a few years. The minister says the presidents of all East African Community member countries actually signed the law to increase taxes on second-garments to 20% this financial year; then in the 2017/2018 financial year all member countries will increase the taxes on second-hand clothes to 50%; then the next year to 75%, and so on till taxes make it simply untenable to import second-hand clothes into the region.
