Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi has once again found himself on the defensive after assuring Kenyans that the government plans to lower individual tax rates – but only after expanding the tax bracket to rope in more taxpayers. His remarks, delivered during an interview on NTV on Thursday, December 11, have sparked criticism that the government is offering relief with one hand while tightening its grip with the other.
Mbadi explained that the administration is working on a long-term strategy to “broaden the tax base,” saying reduced tax rates would only come after more Kenyans begin paying taxes. “We are actually having a strategy to expand the tax bracket. The moment we bring more people into the tax-paying bracket, we will definitely go a step further and lower the tax rate for individual Kenyans,” he stated.
The CS pointed to recent amendments – including the Tax Adjustment Law passed in December 2024 – as examples of government efforts to ease the burden on taxpayers. Yet these reforms were introduced barely a year after sweeping 2023 tax measures triggered widespread frustration, especially among middle-income earners already struggling with high living costs.
Mbadi admitted that many Kenyans are grappling with persistent financial pressure, even as the government rolls out what it terms “relief measures.” Critics argue that while minor revisions are announced as wins, they do little to offset the escalating costs fuelled by frequent tax hikes on essential goods such as food, fuel, and basic services.
The Treasury CS has also acknowledged the root of the problem: Kenya’s ballooning Ksh12 trillion public debt. In a previous interview, he revealed that nearly half of all taxes collected go directly to debt servicing – a situation that leaves the government with limited resources yet pushes it to demand even more from taxpayers. For many Kenyans, this has reinforced the perception that the state is simultaneously offering promises of tax cuts while quietly extracting more from their pockets.