President Ruto Signs the Finance Bill 2023 into Law

President William Ruto on Monday assented to the Finance Bill 2023 after Members of Parliament approved it last week.

Ruto signed the Bill into law after the MPs engaged in a tough debate with the opposition opposing several clauses claiming that it would hamper the lives of Kenyans who languish in poverty due to the high cost of living.

State House Press Secretary Emmanuel Talam said that “President William Ruto has assented to the Finance Bill.”

According to the new reforms in the Bill, Kenyans will buy a litre of petrol and diesel at Ksh Sh26.6 and Sh24, respectively. Kerosene will cost an extra Sh21.6 per litre due to the approved 16 per cent VAT from 8 per cent. The cost of petroleum products will be bullish by more than Ksh10 by July.

Additionally, the employees will have to contribute 1.5 per cent in the Housing levy after the MPs slashed it from the initially proposed 3 per cent.

Digital content creators will be subjected to a 5 per cent tax after the reduction from the previously proposed 15 per cent.

Betting and insurance withholding taxes will be charged at 12.5% and 16%, respectively.

The Finance Bill seeks to raise additional revenue in taxes in the region of Ksh130 billion to finance the Kenya Kwanza administration’s Ksh3.6 trillion budget for the 2023/24 financial year.

In the budget, Sh1.5 trillion has been allocated for recurrent expenditure, Sh718 billion for development while Sh986 billion will go into servicing public debt.

The Bill had 87 proposed amendments, some of which were approved last Tuesday, as the National Assembly debated them deep into the night.

In regard to this, Kenyans will have to dig deeper to finance the multi-billion Finance Bill where Ruto defended it, claiming that it will leverage the economy and save Kenya from the high risks of International borrowing.