What to Expect from Finance Bill 2025: CS Mbadi Clarifies Tax Relief Measures
Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi has announced that the government has not proposed any new taxes in the Finance Bill 2025, a move aimed at cushioning Kenyans from the high cost of living.
Speaking after tabling the bill in the National Assembly on Wednesday, CS Mbadi stated that the government is instead focused on easing the tax burden on citizens while cutting down national expenditure. The budget, originally pegged at Ksh.4.3 trillion, will be slashed by Ksh.130 billion in revised proposals.
“We have not introduced any tax measures which will add the burden on the taxpayer,” Mbadi told Citizen TV. He noted that the government had, in fact, introduced several reliefs such as:
- Exempting tea and coffee packaging from tax,
- Reducing the digital asset (crypto) tax from 3% to 1.5%, and
- Exempting retirees’ gratuity payments from taxation.
Additionally, the Treasury Ministry plans to amend key laws including the Income Tax Act, VAT Act, Excise Duty Act, and the Tax Procedures Act as part of broader reforms.
CS Mbadi emphasized that cost-cutting efforts will target operational expenditures in government, including travel and non-essential spending. These reforms are designed to respond to public pressure and prevent a repeat of last year’s backlash from the youth-led protests against the Finance Bill 2024.
The Finance Bill 2025 was approved by Cabinet on Tuesday before being introduced in Parliament. Speaker of the National Assembly Moses Wetangula announced that the bill now proceeds to departmental committees for scrutiny and public participation.
Wetangula urged MPs not to politicize the bill outside the House, saying, “If you oppose the bill, do so here—not at funerals or before schoolchildren who cannot respond.”
Minority Leader Junet Mohammed echoed this call for transparency, urging lawmakers to engage in honest debate and avoid fueling misinformation: “If there are no more taxations, there are no more taxations. Let us not import things into the Finance Bill.”
Despite the Treasury’s reassurances, the opposition has remained skeptical, warning that hidden taxes may still emerge once the full text of the bill is made public.
The Finance Committee of the National Assembly is expected to lead the public participation phase, giving Kenyans a chance to scrutinize the bill and submit their views before it is debated.
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What to Expect from Finance Bill 2025: CS Mbadi Clarifies Tax Relief Measures