Speaking during the official opening of the Africa Inland Church (AIC) Pipeline in Embakasi, Nairobi County, where he also attended a prayer service, the President painted an optimistic picture of Kenya’s economic trajectory.

“For the first time in a long while, Kenya is not guessing. We are not drifting. We are not gambling,” Ruto told congregants.

“We have set our targets. We have begun the journey.”

The President’s remarks come as his administration faces mounting pressure to deliver on campaign promises to reduce the financial burden on ordinary Kenyans.

Recent economic indicators suggest some progress, with inflation dropping from a high of 9.6% in October 2022 to 4.5% by the end of 2025.

Ruto emphasized that difficult decisions made early in his tenure, including fiscal consolidation measures and subsidy reforms, were necessary to stabilize the economy and create conditions for sustainable growth.

“The decisive measures we took in 2023 and 2024 were aimed at stabilizing and turning around the economy,” the President said in his recent New Year address.

“Looking back, 2025 was the year when those deliberate, often demanding choices began to pay off.”

In a significant move to ease household budgets, Ruto recently announced that Kenyans earning Sh30,000 and below will be exempt from Pay As You Earn (PAYE) taxes, up from the current threshold of Sh24,000.

“We are now saying that any Kenyan who earns less than Sh30,000 will not pay any taxes,” Ruto stated.

“One and a half million working Kenyans will not pay any taxes, and another 500,000 will have their taxes reduced to 25 per cent.”

The President framed these measures as part of his “Bottom Up Economic Transformation Agenda,” designed to put more money directly into the pockets of low and middle-income earners.

“This is how, progressively, we will manage the cost of living,” he added. “Bottom Up was not just a slogan.”

While the President expressed confidence in Kenya’s economic direction, opposition voices remain skeptical.

Critics point to continued struggles with unemployment, rising debt levels, and delayed implementation of key programs.

However, government data shows some positive trends: nearly a million Kenyans have accessed jobs through housing initiatives, labor mobility programs, and the digital economy.

The Central Bank of Kenya has also cut the base lending rate multiple times, from 13% to 9.25%, making credit more accessible.

Ruto has declared 2026 a “watershed year” for Kenya, promising accelerated infrastructure development, expanded digital employment opportunities, and continued health and education reforms.

“2026 will be a turning point in our march from promise to prosperity,” the President said.

“A year that future generations will look back on and say Kenya changed course.”

As Kenyans navigate ongoing economic challenges, the President’s message from the pulpit at AIC Pipeline was clear: patience with tough reforms will yield dividends, and relief is on the horizon.

Whether voters agree when they head to the polls in 2027 remains to be seen.

The post Ruto’s Pledge: 1.5 Million Kenyans to Stop Paying Taxes as Cost of Living Drops appeared first on Insider Bits News.

The bold proposal, backed by President William Ruto, would put cash directly back into the pockets of over 4 million workers who currently surrender a portion of their modest salaries to the taxman each month, money they desperately need for food, rent, and school fees.

“Anyone earning below Ksh30,000 should not pay PAYE. It is simply not fair,” Mbadi told a packed Budget and Privatisation Forum in Kiambu drawing applause from attendees.

Then, with characteristic candour, he added: “I earn a million shillings let the government come for me and my fellow MPs instead.”

For Jane Wanjiku, a shopkeeper in Nairobi’s Kawangware estate who earns Ksh28,000 monthly, the news feels almost too good to be true.

After rent, transport, and feeding her two children, she’s often left with barely enough to see the month through.

“If they stop taking tax from my salary, that’s an extra Ksh2,000 in my hands every month,” she says.

“That could pay school fees, or buy milk and bread when we run out. It would change everything.”

She’s not alone. Treasury data shows that approximately 1.5 million salaried workers earn Ksh30,000 or less, with another 2 million earning just slightly above that threshold.

Combined, the proposed tax relief could benefit upwards of 4 million Kenyans,a substantial segment of the country’s formal workforce.

“This Is Survival Money, Not Taxable Income”

Mbadi was unequivocal in his reasoning: a Ksh30,000 salary is not wealth but it’s survival.

“This is barely enough to cover rent, food, transport, and school fees for a family,” he explained.

“It is not the kind of income where the government should still be seeking to levy taxes. These are hardworking Kenyans just trying to get by.”

Under the current system, anyone earning above Ksh24,000 per month falls into the taxable bracket, meaning even the lowest-paid formal workers lose a slice of their pay to PAYE (Pay As You Earn) deductions.

The Treasury’s new plan would not only raise that threshold to Ksh30,000 but also introduce a 5 percent tax reduction for those earning between Ksh30,000 and Ksh50,000, offering relief to lower-middle-income earners as well.

Beyond the immediate relief for families, economists say the move could inject much-needed energy into Kenya’s sluggish economy.

“When low-income earners have more money in their pockets, they spend it — on food, clothes, transport, school supplies,” says Dr. Mercy Kiprotich, an economist at Strathmore University.

“That spending powers small businesses, market vendors, and local suppliers. It’s a direct stimulus to the grassroots economy.”

Mbadi echoed this sentiment: “We want to give you something in your pocket so that we can spur demand in the economy, because it is struggling.”

Local traders and matatu operators have reported declining sales in recent months as households tighten their belts amid rising fuel costs, inflation, and stagnant wages.

A tax break of this magnitude could reverse that trend.

But there’s a flip side. To offset the revenue loss from exempting millions of low earners, Mbadi says the government will intensify efforts to bring informal earners into the tax system and improve compliance among higher earners.

“We cannot continue to have a situation where only a small percentage of Kenyans carry the tax burden,” he cautioned.

“We will broaden the base, but we will do it fairly, without heavy-handedness.”

This could mean stricter enforcement for businesses, professionals, and high-net-worth individuals who operate outside the formal payroll, as well as digital tools to track income more effectively.

Still, Mbadi insists the focus remains on fairness: “Let those who can afford to pay, pay. But let those who are struggling, breathe.”

The proposal will now head to Parliament as part of the upcoming Finance Bill, where it will face debate and scrutiny from lawmakers.

If approved, the changes could take effect as early as July 2026, the start of the next financial year.

For millions of Kenyans like Jane Wanjiku, the wait will be anxious but hopeful.

“I pray they pass it,” she says. “Because for people like us, every shilling counts.”

The post Mbadi: Kenyans Earning Ksh30,000 Should Not Pay Tax appeared first on Insider Bits News.