President Ruto Signs Controversial Finance Bill 2023 Into Law, Impacts Kenyans' Pockets

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President Ruto Signs Controversial Finance Bill 2023 Into Law, Impacts Kenyans' Pockets

President William Ruto has given his approval to the highly debated Finance Bill 2023, which had been passed by the National Assembly just last week. The signing took place on Monday morning at State House, Nairobi.

After undergoing a third reading by Kuria Kimani, the chairperson of the National Assembly Finance and National Planning Committee, the Bill successfully made its way through Parliament. As a result, Kenyans will now have to allocate more of their financial resources to support the government's initial budget.

During the deliberations in the National Assembly, there were 87 proposed amendments to the Bill. Following extensive late-night debates on Tuesday, some of these amendments were approved. Notably, one of the key approved proposals was an increase in the value-added tax on gasoline from 8% to 16%.

With the exception of Githunguri MP Gathoni Wamuchomba, a majority of 184 MPs, primarily from the Kenya Kwanza party, supported the bill, while 88 MPs, largely from the Azimio party, opposed the amendment.

The controversial Housing levy, originally intended to be set at 3% of income, was also passed after being amended to 1.5% of gross pay. It was transformed into a tax, as opposed to a savings account accessible after a seven-year period, as initially proposed.

Additionally, digital creators will now be subject to a 5% tax, a reduction from the original proposal of 15%. Furthermore, a 12.5% tax on betting withholding and a 16% tax on insurance withholding were also introduced.





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