The majority of the amendments to the Finance Bill, 2024 have been adopted as MPs began the committee consideration of the government’s tax proposals.

Notable amendments that have passed include those moved by the Chairperson of the Finance and Planning Committee, Kuria Kimani (Molo MP).

Key Amendments Adopted:

• Tax Deletions: MPs voted to delete clauses imposing taxes on bread, internet, and diaspora remittances. These taxes had sparked public outrage and led to widespread protests.

• Clause 39 Amendment: Lawmakers approved an amendment to allow manufacturers to deduct excise on raw materials.

• Clause 41 Amendment: MPs amended the bill to allow excise duty to be paid on the 5th day of every month, rather than within 24 hours as originally proposed.

• Eco-Levy Exemptions: Amendments were made to exempt sanitary towels and tyres from the eco-levy. The eco-levy will now apply only to finished imported products.

• e-Tims Exemption: Clause 51 was amended to exempt farmers, small businesses, and enterprises with turnover less than Sh1 million from e-Tims registration.

During the Tuesday morning session chaired by Deputy Speaker Gladys Shollei (Uasin Gishu), lawmakers also amended Clause 63 of the bill, removing the part that exempted the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) from the Data Protection Act. This clause had sparked fears that it would allow the KRA to have unrestricted access to citizens' data for tax compliance monitoring.

Additionally, Section 65 of the Value Added Tax Act was amended to include the phrase "and exported goods" immediately after "imported taxable goods."

Finally, MPs amended Clause 60 to exclude employees of national carriers from the requirement to carry a KRA Pin while working outside the country.

Opposition MPs, who had proposed further amendments, dropped their suggestions and called for the bill to be rejected entirely.