Kenya’s parliamentary finance committee has rejected a controversial proposal in the 2024 Finance Bill that would have granted the country’s revenue authority unrestricted access to taxpayers’ data.
In a report released late Monday, the committee cited privacy concerns and potential violations of constitutional safeguards as key reasons for its decision.
Read Also:Kenya arrests policeman after protests over blogger’s death
The committee said that current laws already allow the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) to access financial data with a court warrant, rendering the proposal unnecessary.
“In light of these existing safeguards, the committee concluded that the proposed provision is both unnecessary and potentially unconstitutional,” the report said.
Finance Minister John Mbadi has defended the measure, saying it would help curb tax evasion, particularly by wealthy individuals exploiting legal protections to conceal financial information.
Mbadi was not immediately available to comment on the committee’s decision.
President William Ruto’s government, which took office in 2022, has been trying to increase tax collection to help keep up with growing debt repayments.
Last year’s finance bill was followed by deadly riots against tax increases. Mbadi has said the government will not impose new taxes or raise existing ones in this year’s bill.
The bill, however, aims to raise an extra 30 billion shillings ($233 million), mainly through boosting tax compliance.
The provision is necessary to allow the KRA access to financial information belonging to businesses and individuals, to help its officials detect any tax evasion, the minister had said.
The government Is under pressure to avoid a repeat of unrest over revenue measures after last year’s protests against proposed tax hikes led to over 50 deaths and forced Ruto to abandon plans to raise 346 billion shillings in taxes.