Kimani Wambugu (not his real name), a single man with a monthly income of Sh60,000, is staring at hard times ahead as almost his entire salary will be subjected to taxes if lawmakers adopt the budget statement as presented to Parliament by Treasury Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Ndung’u yesterday.

A close look at Wambugu’s payslip shows if the budget, to be packaged in the Finance Bill 2024 next week, sails through, as expected, his net income will drop to Sh45,585 from Sh46,235.

This means he will eventually take home a paltry Sh23,414, largely resulting from a sharp increase in the cost of basic commodities. His expenses include rent of about Sh12,000 for a one-bedroom house on Thika Road or in Nairobi’s lower middle-class Eastlands, electricity and water (Sh2,586) and cooking gas (6kg cylinder; Sh1,540.

Other expenses (some of which will shoot up) are food, such as two packets of 2kg maize flour (Sh440), up from Sh400; 2kg sugar (Sh567), up from Sh460; bread for 30 days inclusive of 16 per cent Value Added Tax (Sh2,262), up from Sh1,950; cooking oil (Sh2,836), up from Sh1,700; and airtime at Sh100 per day and Sh3,000 monthly.

Calls to reject bill

The shocker for Wambugu and other salaried Kenyans came on the day social media platforms were awash with calls to Kenyans to reject the finance bill on the grounds that 60 percent of employees’ salaries would go to taxes.

With the hashtag “Reject Finance Bill”, Kenyans took to various platforms, tagging President William Ruto and their respective MPs to demand that lawmakers shoot down the bill when it comes up for voting next week.

One Eric @amerix shared on X (formerly Twitter) MPs’ WhatsApp and phone contacts, rallying Kenyans to contact them and rally them to reject the bill.

Among the numbers he shared were those of National Assembly Majority Leader and Kikuyu MP Kimani Ichung’wa, Budget and Appropriations Committee chairperson and Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro, Majority Whip and South Mugirango MP Silvanus Osoro and MPs Gideon Kimaiyo (Keiyo South), Mohammed Tubi (Isiolo South), Peter Salaysa (Mumias East), Patrick Simiyu (Cherangany), Dan Wanyama (Webuye West), Reuben Kiborek (Mogotio), John Paul Mwirigi (Igembe South) and Jessica Mbalu (Kibwezi East).

Read another message: “Wakenya! This is a simple explanation about the consequences of the Finance Bill. This is a reason to escalate the calls and SMS. Pick your phone now and call/text your MP.

“Remind them that we are not citizens of IMF, WEF and World Bank….Monday, June 17th, is a public holiday (Eid al-Adha), Load your phone with enough SMS and Bundles. Your MPs will be crisscrossing your constituency misleading people. Text/call them. You are not a citizen of the IMF.”

Security agents

Several MPs confirmed that they had received calls and texts from Kenyans asking them to reject the bill. Suba North MP Millie Odhiambo posted on her Facebook page that she had received more than 30 calls from numbers not in her phone book asking her to reject the bill.

Read her message: “We had a Defence, Intelligence and International Relations Committee Meeting this morning. During the meeting, I noted more than 30 calls from numbers not in my system.

“I called back after the meeting and 90% were from people from all over Kenya asking me to reject the Finance Bill. My WhatsApp messages are equally full. I have not looked at other platforms.”

She added: “I got out of Bunge Towers and found an unprecedented number of security agents around Bunge on a Budget Reading Day. Normally the public stand outside Bunge keen to hear the Budget and to talk to MPs and the media on their concerns.

“No Members of Public anywhere near bunge today. Today is Budget Reading where the CS reads the Budget for 2024/2025 and also notes the revenue raising measures to Finance the Budget including through taxes. The main discussions on the Budget and Finance Bill begin next week Tuesday.”

Kitutu Chache MP Anthony Kibagendi also confirmed that he had received calls and messages from Kenyans asking him to reject the bill.

He said: “Ladies and gentlemen, you don’t have to spam my inbox with texts and WhatsApp messages. I will be rejecting the Finance Bill if the amendments we have proposed are not considered.”

Frustrations expressed

Osoro said he had received about 3,000 messages from Kenyans, a majority of them expressing their frustrations over the government’s decision to increase taxes.

He said: “Somebody must have shared our contacts from the president right down to all the MPs. For the record I have received close to 3,000 messages with 50 per cent being very vulgar and weird demands.

“Unfortunately, there are groups of people taking advantage of the exposure of our contacts to display their frustrations with us and insult us. Half are about the Finance Bill, the rest are insults, asking for jobs, money etc.”

Salasya claimed that he received over 5,000 calls from Kenyans he doesn’t know asking him to reject the Finance Bill.

The outcry over the controversial bill as the  National Assembly’s Finance and Planning Committee has retreated to compile its report on the bill after meeting various stakeholders and government institutions.

About 108 of 120 stakeholders in the Manufacturing, telecommunication, edible oil, banking and digital sector opposed several proposals in the bill on the grounds that it will lead to job losses.

The National Assembly is required by law to pass the finance bill and it must be signed into law by the President by June 30th, paving the way for implementing the revenue-raising measures, including new taxes, from July 1, when the financial year starts.

Among the proposals stakeholders have rejected are a proposed increase of excise duty by 25 percent; reintroduction of excise duty on plastic packaging at 10 percent; and an ECO levy that aims to promote responsible waste management by Sh150 per kilo.

Stakeholders said the proposal will lead to an increase in the cost of basic commodities such as cooking oil, wheat flour, bread, and soap.

The other proposals that stakeholders have rejected are a motor vehicle tax at a rate of 2.5 percent of the value of the car; an increase in excise duty from 15 percent to 20 percent on money transfer services charged by banks, money transfer agencies and financial service providers; and the introduction of VAT on bread.

The bill has also proposed to remove affordable housing relief that salaried Kenyans are getting.

The bill also targets individuals who own and make money from digital platforms and websites in Kenya, regardless of whether they are locals or foreigners.

On digital creation, the bill seeks to enhance the meaning of digital content monetisation by including creative works and the creating or sharing of the material as a form of acquiring an income, which will be taxed.