The National Assembly has passed the Finance Bill, 2025, marking a major step toward finalizing the government’s revenue-raising plan for the 2025/26 financial year. The Bill was approved on Thursday, June 19, during the afternoon session following the conclusion of the Third Reading on Wednesday night.
While the Bill is now awaiting presidential assent, Members of Parliament made significant revisions—including the rejection of a proposal to grant the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) unrestricted access to personal financial data from banks and service providers.
The proposal had been heavily criticized by lawmakers and rights groups as a violation of Article 31(c) and (d) of the Constitution, which guarantees citizens the right to privacy.
“The House adopted the Finance and Planning Committee’s amendments, which rejected KRA’s proposal for unrestricted access to personal data for tax compliance,” said Kimani Kuria, chairperson of the Finance and Planning Committee.
Parliament also rejected a proposed Sh5 million threshold for account surveillance, arguing it could create revenue leakage loopholes and compromise enforcement capacity.
In terms of revenue, the Bill is projected to raise Sh24 billion, significantly lower than the National Treasury’s initial estimate of Sh30 billion. This figure is the lowest in the past three fiscal years for any finance-related legislation.
“The Finance Act of 2022 had a projected revenue of Sh22 billion, the Finance Act of 2023 Sh211 billion, the defunct Finance Bill, 2024 Sh344 billion, and the Tax Laws Amendment Act, 2024 Sh49 billion. The Finance Bill, 2025, will only collect Sh24 billion,” Kuria explained.
Despite the lower revenue expectation, the Bill forms a crucial part of the broader Sh3.316 trillion ordinary revenue target in the 2025/26 national budget.
The scaled-down estimates and softened provisions reflect increasing public and political resistance to aggressive tax measures, following nationwide protests and legal opposition to the now-defunct Finance Bill, 2024.
The final version of the 2025 Finance Bill now awaits President William Ruto’s signature to become law.
