NAIROBI, Kenya, Sept 17 – National Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi says the Government will begin reviewing PAYE bands for low-income earners in the first week of October, delaying the process initially expected to start this month.

Mbadi attributed the delay to a busy schedule, including his planned attendance at the IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings, as well as the need to conduct public participation before introducing the proposed changes.

“It is coming. I am going for public participation first. My sister, look at what the court is saying. If I bring them and someone goes to court that I did not do public participation, it will be quashed. Kenya has become what it is. Let us just live with it,” Mbadi told reporters.

“The problem is this month is a bit crowded. But I guarantee you the first week of October, I’m starting that exercise. I will break it when I am going for the spring meeting. I don’t know whether you know spring meetings—the meeting of IMF and World Bank—I will break then I come back and conclude it, then we process the bill, we take to the National Assembly, and then they also do some public participation,” he added.

Under the Treasury proposal, employees earning Sh30,000 and below would be exempted from PAYE, while the tax rate for those earning between Sh30,001 and Sh50,000 would be reduced.

Mbadi said the Government will also consider alternative proposals submitted by stakeholders during the public participation process.

The Kenya Bankers Association (KBA) has proposed cutting PAYE rates by five percentage points across all tax bands and capping the highest rate at 30 percent.

KBA estimates that the proposed changes would give workers an additional Sh28.1 billion in disposable income annually, create about 36,000 jobs each year and increase economic output by Sh210 billion.