The National Treasury has once again delayed plans to review Pay As You Earn (PAYE) tax relief for salaried Kenyans earning Ksh30,000 per month, with Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi now saying the process will begin in October 2026.

🇰🇪 Breaking It Down

Mbadi had previously indicated that Treasury would table a Bill in Parliament by the end of September to trigger the review of PAYE bands.

However, speaking on Tuesday, September 15, the CS said Treasury would first conduct public participation in the first week of October before submitting the proposed changes to Parliament.

"It is coming. I will do the public participation first. Kenya has become what it is because of the Constitution that we have. If I bring them without public participation, someone might go to court to stop it. Sometimes it can be very discomforting," Mbadi stated.

📌 What You Need to Know

He attributed the latest delay to a crowded schedule in September, including planned foreign travel, saying the public participation process could not be completed within the month.

"This month is a bit crowded. I will do it immediately in the first week of October," he stated.

Mbadi is also expected to attend the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Annual Meetings, which will form part of the government's timeline for communicating the proposed tax reforms.

"I will break it when I am going for the spring meeting, then come back and conclude it, then we process the Bill through the National Assembly," Mbadi said.

Under earlier proposals, the government had hinted that employees earning up to Ksh30,000 per month would be exempted from PAYE, while those earning between Ksh30,000 and Ksh50,000 would pay PAYE at a reduced rate of 25 per cent.

If approved by Parliament, the changes could reduce PAYE deductions for more than 3.4 million salaried workers across the country.

📰 Source: Kenyans.co.ke