Businesses Support Tax Amnesty but urge reform to refund laws

Jukwaa

📻 Breaking It Down

NAIROBI, Kenya May 25 – Stakeholders appearing before the National Assembly Departmental Committee on Finance and National Planning have broadly welcomed the government’s proposal to introduce a new tax amnesty program under the Finance Bill, 2026.

However, the stakeholders who submitted their proposals to the Committee strongly urged lawmakers to push forward critical compliance deadlines and address restrictive clauses surrounding overpaid tax refunds to avert an impending liquidity crisis.

📌 What You Need to Know

To unlock the full potential of the policy, stakeholders petitioned the Committee to consider extending the tax amnesty window to June 30, 2027.

“This would allow businesses to use two full fiscal cycles to organize the capital required to clear outstanding principal liabilities”, they submitted.

While stakeholders described the initiative as a major step toward cleaning up corporate ledgers and alleviating commercial financial stress, major concerns were raised regarding the tight implementation windows and aggressive shifts in statutory timelines.

The Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA), representing over two million businesses, lauded the move as a strategic fiscal intervention that provides businesses with an ideal pathway to formalization and voluntary regularisation.

“KEPSA is highly appreciative of the collaborative wins realized in the Finance Bill 2026. These positive inclusions are the direct result of sustained private-sector advocacy through structured engagement, policy dialogue, and evidence-based submissions to the National Treasury and the National Assembly”, the Alliance told the lawmakers.

They acknowledged that provisions such as the one on tax amnesty demonstrated the government’s commitment to creating a conducive environment for business.

📰 Source: Capital FM Kenya

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