Government Spokesperson Isaac Mwaura has clarified that the Finance Bill 2025 has not yet been presented or filed. Speaking at a weekly media briefing on Monday, April 14, Mwaura echoed Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi’s earlier statement, confirming that no official finance bill has been tabled so far.
According to Mwaura, a finance bill will only be drafted and introduced if it is determined that the revenue collected in the current financial year 2024/2025 is not enough to support the budget planned for the upcoming 2025/2026 financial year. This assessment will only happen after April 30, once the entire budget preparation process is finalized.
He pointed out that the standard government procedure is to introduce revenue-raising proposals such as the finance bill only after the draft budget has been released, which is scheduled for after April 30. This is in line with the established budget timelines followed by the National Treasury.
However, Mwaura was keen to emphasize that the government is not planning to introduce new taxes right away.
Instead, he said the priority will be on strengthening existing tax systems and enhancing how taxes are collected.
He also said the government will focus on improving transparency, accountability, and oversight in how public funds are spent, to make better use of current resources.
At present, the National Assembly has already approved the Budget Policy Statement (BPS), which has projected the national budget for the 2025/2026 financial year to stand at Ksh4.26 trillion.
These comments from Mwaura come shortly after Kuria Kimani, the chairperson of the National Assembly Budget Committee and the Member of Parliament for Molo, hinted that the country could see more taxes introduced if the revenue raised is not enough to meet the government’s financial needs for the coming year.
Speaking during an interview on NTV last week, Kimani explained that the government depends on three main sources of revenue: taxation, donor support, and appropriation-in-aid (income generated by government departments from services offered).
Before any finance bill is introduced, the government has to carefully examine how much has been collected from these sources.
Kuria said the Treasury must first analyze the revenue data from the final quarter of the 2024/2025 financial year to get a full picture of available funds.
Only after this analysis can the government make an informed decision on whether more taxes are necessary or if budget adjustments should be made.
He added that if the funds raised from existing taxes, donor funding, and appropriation-in-aid are found to be enough to cover the projected spending, there will be no need to introduce a new finance bill at all.
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