Mbadi says 2025 budget is citizen-centred with no tax hikes

Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi has reiterated that the 2025/2026 Budget is specifically tailored for the ordinary Kenyan, taking into account fiscal responsibility, tax relief, and enhanced efficiency in public spending.

Addressing concerns regarding taxation and public expenditure, CS Mbadi assured Kenyans that no new taxes have been introduced in the Finance Bill 2025. Instead, he stated that the focus has been placed on streamlining tax administration, closing leakages, and ensuring that every shilling benefits the people.

“Kenyans complained about high taxation; therefore, we were very cautious as a government to ensure that we didn’t introduce unreasonable taxes that would again overburden Kenyans,” he said.

“We have a modest Finance Bill 2025. It is a Finance Bill with no tax increases and no high taxes. This is happening for the first time. We have not added any tax at all. Let nobody cheat you, or lie to you; there is no tax increase. What we have done is streamline tax administration and management to make it more efficient and responsive,” he explained.

CS Mbadi also revealed that the National Treasury has implemented strict measures to cut wastage, redirect resources to critical, high-impact sectors, and ensure that all programmes have accountable budgets.

“We are trying to manage the budget. If you allocate too much, it will be wasted,” he stated. “Please do not allow those who have benefited from the misuse of public resources to attack the government for reducing their budget. We will continue to cut the budget in areas where there is wastage.”

The Treasury chief urged Kenyans to support efforts to seal loopholes where their money is lost, enhance accountability, and ensure value for their money.

“The problem with Kenyans is that sometimes we make noise about putting too much money into something because people are stealing that money. However, when we start reducing the budget to reasonable amount, putting roadblocks to theft of public funds, we again start to make noise,” he said