Finance Bill 2026 should ease tax burden on Kenyans

As the government pushes ahead with the Finance Bill 2026, majority of Kenyans are apprehensive of more taxes. For millions of households struggling with a punishing cost of living, the proposed tax measures rekindle painful memories of the Finance Bill 2024 that sparked unprecedented Gen Z-led protests across the country.

The concerns being raised today are not merely political; they are economic and personal. They touch on daily realities of families battling rising food prices, expensive transport, costly education, unaffordable healthcare, and shrinking incomes.

However, government officials argue that increased taxation is necessary to raise revenue, reduce borrowing, and fund development programmes. In principle, that argument may sound reasonable. Every nation requires taxes to finance public services. However, taxation must be balanced with the ability of citizens and businesses to survive and grow. The reality tells a different story.

Kenyans are being asked to contribute more when many are earning less. Small businesses are closing under the weight of operating costs. Youth unemployment remains alarmingly high.

Farmers face rising production expenses while consumers can't afford basic commodities. The middle class, once the engine of economic growth, is shrinking under mounting financial pressure.

More worrying is the perception that the government has failed to learn from events of 2024. The protests were not merely about taxes. They reflected widespread frustration over economic hardship, government spending priorities, corruption, and a feeling that citizens were not being heard.

The push to reintroduce some of the very measures attracted public outrage risks reopening old wounds and deepening public mistrust. Taxation should not be an end in itself. A government cannot endlessly squeeze a struggling population and expect economic growth.

Prosperity is created when businesses thrive, investments grow, jobs are created, and citizens have disposable income to spend and save. Excessive taxation often achieves the opposite by reducing consumer spending, discouraging investment, and driving economic activity into the informal sector.

The government must appreciate that confidence is as important as revenue collection. Investors, entrepreneurs, and ordinary citizens need assurance that public resources are being managed prudently. Before demanding more sacrifices from taxpayers, leaders must demonstrate greater discipline in public expenditure, eliminate wasteful spending, and intensify the fight against corruption.

Kenyans are not opposed to contributing to national development. What they oppose is carrying an ever-increasing tax burden while seeing little relief in their daily lives. The Finance Bill 2026 should therefore be approached with caution, humility, and genuine public consultation.

The lesson from 2024 remains clear: economic policies that ignore the realities of citizens risk creating not only financial hardship but also social unrest. A nation cannot tax its way out of economic challenges. It must grow its way out of them. Until that principle guides policy, the cry from Kenyans will remain the same: enough is enough.