Mbadi Explains Why Govt Cannot Yet Scrap Paye For Low Earners
img_tag = ("Your salary slip just got heavier news — Treasury CS John Mbadi has delivered a reality check that will hit every Kenyan earning above Sh30,000, explaining why the government cannot eliminate PAYE taxes for low earners despite mounting public pressure.
Speaking on Monday, Mbadi outlined the harsh mathematics behind Kenya's tax burden, revealing that scrapping PAYE for those earning up to Sh30,000 would blow a massive hole in government revenues that the Treasury simply cannot afford right now. The Cabinet Secretary painted a picture of a government caught between citizen demands for relief and the brutal reality of funding essential services.
The timing of Mbadi's statement stings particularly hard for ordinary Kenyans already feeling the pinch from recent tax increases. From the matatu conductor in Eastlands to the teacher in Meru county, workers earning modest salaries have watched their take-home pay shrink while the cost of everything from unga to transport continues climbing. Many had hoped the new administration would provide some breathing room through tax relief.
Mbadi's explanation centers on a simple but painful equation — Kenya needs every shilling it can collect to fund hospitals, schools, roads and other services that citizens demand. The government collects roughly Sh2 trillion annually, with PAYE contributing a significant chunk. Removing taxes from the lower income bracket would force the Treasury to either cut services or find alternative revenue sources, neither of which offers an easy solution.
The announcement hits hardest in urban centers like Nairobi, where even a Sh30,000 salary barely covers rent, transport and food for a family. Unlike business owners who can adjust prices or those in the informal sector who operate outside the tax net, salaried employees have nowhere to hide from PAYE deductions that appear automatically on their M-Pesa salary notifications.
For millions of Kenyans checking their bank balances at month-end, Mbadi's words confirm what many suspected — tax relief remains a distant dream while the government grapples with debt payments and revenue shortfalls. The CS essentially admitted that Kenya's tax system has become a trap where those formal employees bear a disproportionate burden because they are the easiest to tax.
This leaves ordinary Kenyans facing a frustrating reality where their elected leaders acknowledge the tax burden is heavy but cannot offer immediate relief. Will Kenyans accept this explanation, or will the pressure for creative solutions to ease the PAYE burden continue building until something gives?