The Parliamentary Finance Committee has rejected a controversial proposal in the 2025 Finance Bill that would have given the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) unrestricted access to taxpayers’ financial data.  

The committee cited privacy violations and constitutional safeguards as the main reasons for dropping the proposal, even as the government struggles to raise more revenue without increasing taxes. 

The provision had sparked public backlash across social media and civil society, with many Kenyans worried it would allow the taxman to intrude into personal bank accounts and private financial records without oversight.  

The committee noted that under existing laws, KRA can already access such information—provided it obtains a court order. 

“In light of these existing safeguards, the committee concluded that the proposed provision is both unnecessary and potentially unconstitutional,” the committee said.

Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi had defended the proposal, arguing it was aimed at tightening enforcement against tax evasion, especially among wealthy individuals and corporations who use legal loopholes to shield income from scrutiny.  

He had said the access would improve compliance and transparency, enabling KRA to meet its revenue targets without imposing new taxes.

However, he was not immediately available to comment on the committee’s decision. 

This latest debate comes at a time when the government is under pressure to increase domestic revenue collection to meet rising debt obligations, without causing further public unrest.  

Last year, a finance bill that included several tax hikes triggered nationwide protests and riots, leaving more than 50 people dead.

The public backlash forced President William Ruto to drop plans to raise Ksh346 billion in new taxes. Learning from that episode, the Ruto administration has pledged not to increase or introduce new taxes in the current bill.  

Sweeping data access 

Instead, it is relying on improved enforcement and tax compliance measures to raise an additional Ksh30 billion ($233 million) this year. The now-rejected provision to give KRA sweeping data access was seen as central to that plan. 

The revenue authority has been at the forefront of tax enforcement under the Ruto administration, often described as one of the most aggressive tax regimes in recent Kenyan history.  

Since 2022, the agency has ramped up audits, expanded its digital surveillance, and cracked down on under-declared income, especially from high-net-worth individuals and cash-rich sectors like real estate, logistics, and imports.

In several high-profile cases, KRA has recovered billions in back taxes from companies and individuals, bolstering the government’s reputation for fiscal discipline.

However, critics argue that the tax agency’s recent moves have sometimes overstepped legal and ethical boundaries. 

The rejected proposal would have allowed KRA officers to retrieve financial data from banks, mobile money platforms, and other financial institutions without a court order—effectively bypassing existing judicial safeguards.  

For civil society groups and legal experts, this raised red flags around abuse of power and erosion of individual rights. 

The finance committee’s decision is therefore being viewed not just as a rejection of the provision itself, but as a broader pushback against a growing surveillance culture in public administration. 

Critics say the fear wasn’t just about KRA looking into your records. It was about the precedent that would be set if agencies could snoop into personal data without checks.