The Finance Bill, 2026 was published on 30th April and is now before Parliament and every Kenyan deserves to know what is in it.
The government targets Ksh3.63 trillion in revenue for 2026/27 and a wider budget deficit of 5.3% of GDP in the 2026/27 fiscal year (July-June) up from 4.7% in 2025/26. These are not unreasonable fiscal objectives but the manner in which the burden of achieving them is distributed is a cause for serious concern.
On tax filing timelines, the Bill moves the income tax return deadline to April 30th which is two months earlier than the current June 30th and compresses nil return filing to January 31st. This reduces the time available for audit completion, cash flow planning and compliance. For small businesses and individual traders, this is not administrative reform. It is an additional compliance cost they can ill afford.
On mitumba, the Bill inserts a new Section 12H into the Income Tax Act which deems profit at 5% of customs value payable upfront before goods are released by KRA as a final tax. A trader importing a bale worth Ksh1 million pays Ksh50,000 regardless of whether they make a profit or a loss. I cannot in good conscience describe this as equitable.
The Bill increases residential rental income tax from 7.5% to 10%. Absent a serious enforcement framework, this will drive non-compliance rather than revenue. The government must fix the enforcement gap before it increases the rate. One without the other is burden-shifting.
On digital financial services, the Bill removes existing VAT exemptions on money transfers and payment processing. These are the tools of financial inclusion that millions of Kenyans including the very people this government says it wants to reach rely on daily. Making them more expensive will not serve the objective of a broader tax base.
By including interchange and merchant service fees within the definition of management or professional fees for withholding tax purposes, the Bill introduces a compliance burden into automated banking processes. That burden will be passed on to businesses and ultimately to consumers.
The amendment to Section 24 of the Income Tax Act empowers KRA to deem at least 60% of a company's undistributed income as dividends for tax purposes. This fails to account for legitimate decisions on reinvestment, working capital and business growth. It is a retrogressive measure that sends the wrong signal to the investors Kenya needs.
A 25% excise duty on telephones for cellular and wireless networks is proposed. A phone is not a luxury. It is how Kenyans bank, communicate, conduct business and access government services. Parliament must interrogate this carefully.
On PAYE, Kenyans were led to expect relief and a restructuring of the tax bands to ease the burden on salaried workers. That proposal does not appear in this Bill. That is not a minor omission. An explanation is owed to every employed Kenyan who was waiting for it.
To be fair, the Bill is not without merit. The reduction of corporate tax for non-resident companies from 37.5% to 30% improves our investment climate. The extension of the tax amnesty to cover liabilities up to 31st December 2025 provides a genuine and welcome pathway to compliance. VAT exemptions on electric buses, bicycles, dialysers, animal feed raw materials and PPP infrastructure are sensible measures. The clarity introduced on trust taxation ensuring beneficiaries are not taxed on income already taxed at the trust level and the recognition of gratuity contributions as exempt income are also steps in the right direction.
Be that as it may, we cannot afford a repeat of June 2024. Parliament must discharge its oversight role with the seriousness this moment demands. They should not merely rubber-stamp what the Treasury has placed before it. Every clause must be scrutinised. Every punitive or ambiguous provision must be rejected or amended.
#FinanceBill2026 #PublicParticipation
🔴🚨BREAKING FROM HIGH COURT AT THIKA: ⚖️ YOU CANNOT HIDE BEHIND A BROKER AFTER POCKETING LAND MONEY
In Florence Njeri Macharia v Carolyne Wanjiku Kimundui & another, the High Court at Thika has called out a land sale trick many Kenyans know too well. A buyer paid KSh 1.3 million for Kamiti/Anmer/1338 through a middlewoman, plus KSh 21,000 “membership” fees. Months later, strangers appeared claiming the same plot had also been sold to them. Police reports followed. Criminal charges followed. Partial refunds followed. But not the full money. The seller tried a familiar defence on appeal: “I never authorised the broker. She was not my agent.” The Court was not impressed.
The Court went straight to the law of agency. Agency does not require a fancy written contract. It can be implied from conduct. If you send someone to sell on your behalf, receive the proceeds, sit in refund meetings, and even refund part of the purchase price yourself, you cannot later pretend the broker was freelancing. The Court found apparent authority. The middlewoman bound the seller. The appeal was dismissed. The order to refund KSh 740,000 stood. You cannot benefit from a transaction and disown the hand that executed it when things collapse.
This is more than a refund case. It is a warning shot in the land market. Sellers cannot weaponise brokers as disposable shields. If someone acts for you and buyers reasonably believe they represent you, the law will fix you with liability. For buyers, the lesson is brutal and practical: paying through a “broker’s account” is a risk that may take years to unwind in court. Due diligence is not paranoia. It is survival. Land deals built on secrecy, urgency, and middlemen without traceable authority are not investments. They are litigation in waiting. Retweet widely.
Kindly retweet widely to spread awareness🙏
World War 3 Iran Khamenei #LindaGroundMigori Trump #footballfix Johanna Ngeno Happy New Month
@georgediano@Thuranira_1@joshuamalidzo@MutandaLaw@KensonMutethia
My brother Professor @KindikiKithure, my sincere congratulations. To you history has placed an honor and responsibility accorded to only a few. May God guide you and HE @WilliamsRuto as you lead this great country to achieve its tremendous potential. To those that supported me for this position, I thank you. We must now dedicate our efforts to building a better Kenya under the leadership of HE William Samoei Ruto and HE Abraham Kithure Kindiki. #mbeleikosawa
@KenyaGovernors
IT'S A WORLD RECORD!!! 🙌🏽😳🇰🇪
Faith Kipyegon shatters the 1500m WR with an incredible 3:49.04 at the Paris Diamond League!
She’s UNSTOPPABLE! She’s #TEAMKENYA