The Cabinet Secretary for National Treasury and Economic Planning John Mbadi has revealed that plans are underway for the Finance Bill 2025-26 financial year.

Speaking on Thursday, February 13, 2025, outside the treasury buildings, the CS revealed the figures of the proposed legislation will be around Ksh4.2 trillion.

The CS asserted that the provision to have the bill is a constitutional requirement, adding that the ministry has started to get the views of the public.

Mbadi debunked a common misconception, clarifying that a new finance bill is not required every year to fund the budget, as existing legal frameworks already cover this

“We expect it’s a constitutional requirement. Kenyans have been asking why must we always have it.  It is provided for under Chapter 12 that every year we must have finance. What is not a must is having a finance bill with increased rates of taxation. It can have a decrease or an increase or remain the same but we will have to create one however thin. We have started public engagement for the process,” he added.

Responding to the 2024 bill, which was passed but later scrapped after widespread protests, the CS opined that they have adopted a more realistic approach to revenue collection and tax targets, revealing a significant reduction in projected revenue to be announced in the upcoming supplementary budget.

“We have a law legal framework and tax rates already. We will use the same tax rates to raise revenue to finance it,” he said.

“We are becoming more realistic in our approach to revenue collection in the year 2025/26. We had a figure of Ksh3 trillion and Ksh18 billion on ordinary revenue but we have revised downwards. It shows the treasury is walking the talk. We have not just been over-projecting revenue without taking action,” he added.

The 2024 bill adopted by the Kenya Kwanza government failed to see the light of day after widespread protests from Gen Z and the larger Kenyan public.

On a momentous occasion for the country, President William Ruto on June 26, 2024, was forced to decline to assent to the controversial Finance Bill 2024,  amid widespread outrage after the bill passed through the National Assembly.

The bill was part of an ambitious financial target by Ruto’s administration and targeted revenue collection of Ksh346 billion but had been reduced to Ksh200 billion after undergoing public participation.

The protest led to a government rethink of its austerity plans for the nation.

“I also propose that within the next 14 days, a multi-sectoral, multistakeholder engagement be held with a view to charting the way forward on matters relating to the content of the bill as well as auxiliary issues raised in recent days on the need for austerity measures and strengthening our fight against corruption,” Ruto saidwhile declining to assent to the bill.