National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah has defended the government’s decision to quietly reintroduce parts of the controversial Finance Bill 2024, saying the move was necessary to rescue stalled projects and sustain economic growth.
Speaking in Thome, Laikipia East, on Thursday, Ichung’wah accused unnamed individuals of misleading Kenyans into opposing the Bill, claiming the misinformation fueled last year’s anti-Finance Bill protests.
“Those good provisions that were in the Bill were lost when the President did not sign it, and that is why many roads were delayed,” he said, adding that the government later split the Bill into four separate laws to preserve its beneficial elements.
He explained that President William Ruto’s administration had only paused the Finance Bill to calm public anger, before reintroducing its key components through the Tax Laws (Amendment) Bill 2024, the Tax Procedures (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2024, and the Business Laws (Amendment) Bill 2024, which were assented to in December last year.
Among the measures reinstated were new tax compliance systems for small traders, an increased pension deduction allowance, and the introduction of a 15 per cent global minimum tax for multinational firms.
However, controversial taxes such as the eco-levy, motor vehicle tax, and VAT on essential goods were dropped.
Ichung’wah further cautioned against a growing “culture of misinformation,” saying it was undermining trust in governance and weakening national unity. “We must learn to engage with facts instead of propaganda,” he said.
