Kenya’s parliamentary finance committee has rejected a proposal to grant the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) unrestricted access to taxpayers’ data, citing privacy concerns and constitutional safeguards.
The provision, included in this year’s finance bill, drew public backlash over alleged privacy violations.
The committee concluded that current laws already allow the KRA to access financial data with a court warrant, rendering the proposal unnecessary and potentially unconstitutional.
Finance Minister John Mbadi had defended the measure, saying it would help curb tax evasion, particularly by wealthy individuals exploiting legal protections to conceal financial information.
However, the government is under pressure to avoid a repeat of last year’s unrest over revenue measures, which led to over 50 deaths and forced President William Ruto to abandon plans to raise 346 billion shillings in taxes.
The finance bill aims to raise an extra 30 billion shillings ($233 million) mainly through boosting tax compliance. Lawmakers are expected to vote on the bill before it is sent to Ruto for approval.
