Kenya proposes tax exemption for monthly earnings up to 32,333 shillings
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Kenyans
The Kenyan government proposes scrapping the annual 28,800-shilling tax relief and directly exempting from income tax employees earning up to 32,333 shillings a month. The Treasury is to present the tax-band change to the National Assembly next week, according to Treasury Secretary John Mbadi.
The Kenyan government plans to exempt employees earning up to 32,333 shillings a month from income tax by scrapping the current personal tax relief mechanism, Treasury Secretary John Mbadi announced on Thursday. The Treasury will present the proposal to Parliament next week, according to Kenyans.
The reform would replace the personal relief of 2,400 shillings a month, or 28,800 shillings a year, with a change to the PAYE tax bands applied to salaries. The government also plans to scrap stamp duty on land transactions worth less than one million shillings. If the other bands remain unchanged, some employees could nevertheless pay more after the current relief is removed, according to Kenyans.
The proposed threshold was raised from 30,000 to 32,333 shillings by President William Ruto during Mashujaa Day celebrations on 20 October. The measure comes as Kenya’s opposition denounces Ruto’s tax promise as an electoral calculation, according to an article published on 21 October.
