Attorney General Justin Muturi has issued a stern warning to the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) regarding the contentious housing levy, asserting its lack of legal grounding for deduction.
In a letter addressed to KRA Commissioner General Humphrey Wattanga, Muturi referred to a recent court of appeal ruling dated January 26, 2024 that termed the levy unconstitutional.
“The upshot of this is that there is no legal basis on which the Housing Levy as provided in section 84 of the Finance Act, can be implemented,” Muturi said.
He was responding to a letter from Wattanga dated February 12 seeking guidance on the government’s position on the matter.
The High Court on November 28, 2023, declared the Housing Levy illegal citing various reasons including that it was discriminatory as it secluded workers in the informal sector.
Earlier this month, Attorney General Muturi, while appearing before the joint committees of Finance and Planning, and Housing and Urban Planning, urged the Parliament to make essential amendments to the controversial Housing Bill, aiming to benefit the common citizens.
However, he challenged the lawmakers to leverage their mandate for further improvements.
“We are of the view that this bill addresses all the three issues raised by the courts, but like I said, these are just proposals, and the House has the powers to make further amendments to make the bill even better,” said Muturi.
