Experts warn new budget will deepen poverty, increase taxes

 Hon. John Mbadi Ng'ongo Cabinet Secretary The National Treasury and Economic Planning chats with The Controller of Budget Margaret Nyakang'o during 2025 medium term debt management strategy [Wilberforce Okwiri,Standard]

Experts warn Kenya’s forthcoming 2025/26 budget risks plunging an additional two million citizens into poverty through proposed tax hikes and subsidy cuts, compounding existing pressures from a 16.5 per cent inflation rate.

The Tax Justice Network estimates the Finance Bill’s 18 per cent VAT expansion on basic goods could erase eight per cent of purchasing power for low-income households.