Ruto promised PAYE relief in February, Kenyans are still waiting. He is promising it again

• Mbadi says the National Treasury is in the final stages of drafting a bill to formalise the pledge made by President William Ruto on Mashujaa Day.
• Despite the fresh promise, the journey towards exempting low-income earners from taxation has been a long time coming, dating back to January 2026.

President William Ruto speaks during a past address. PHOTO | PCS

National Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi now says the government’s proposal to exempt Kenyans earning up to Ksh.32,333 per month from income tax could be ready by the end of next month.

Mbadi says the National Treasury is in the final stages of drafting a bill to formalise the pledge made by President William Ruto on Mashujaa Day.

Despite the fresh promise, the journey towards exempting low-income earners from taxation has been a long time coming, dating back to January 2026.

“I have directed the National Treasury to place before Parliament these proposals next week,” said Ruto on Tuesday.

Speaking to Citizen TV, CS Mbadi says: “By next week the bill should be ready, then we will take it through the normal process and I don’t think it will take much time. By next month this…will be finished.”

The new promise is the latest in a long timeline of moving targets for a promise by President William Ruto’s government to exempt Kenyans earning up to Ksh.32,333 per month from Pay As You Earn (PAYE) tax.

But this is not the first time such a promise is being made.

In February this year, both President Ruto and CS Mbadi had assured the Kenyan workforce of the tax cuts even before mid-year.

“We have agreed with the President; he has directed me to take the proposals to Parliament. I am not even waiting for the Finance Bill to come in June. I am taking the Tax Laws Amendment Bill to Parliament once Parliament resumes; we are preparing that bill,” Mbadi said in February 2, 2026.

Ruto stated then: “We are now saying that any Kenyans who earn less than 30K will not pay any tax. That’s how progressively we are going to make sure we manage the cost of living.”

Fast forward to May and June 2026, during discussions on the Finance Bill and the budget-making process, despite questions about how the government would implement the February promise, the CS had a fresh explanation.

“Even if it is not in the Finance Bill, it is not off the table. We will make sure the promise by the President and the CS National Treasury will be implemented. I have explained that we had some data analysis we made. This government has not lied to Kenyans. Wait, it will be implemented,” Mbadi explained on June 11, 2026.

Two weeks earlier, the President had told the country that some National Treasury operatives were wary of the impact the tax cuts would have on the government’s revenue.

“Some people there at the National Treasury came back to me and said, “Oh, Mr. President, this is going to be very big; it will cost us Ksh.40 billion in this budget.” I told them, “Let’s do it,” said Ruto on May 28, 2026.

Five months later, it is not yet done, with the Treasury CS now confident that the time has come and that the promise is even better.

“We had talked about Ksh.30,000; after further discussions, some stakeholders gave proposals, including the Kenya Bankers’ Association. We were still looking for other proposals and that’s why we have settled on the Ksh.32,333,” stated Mbadi.

It’s been ten months of a promise. The President believes they have finally found the path to realisation.

It still remains to be seen how the government will establish what would ideally raise the number of untaxed formal sector employees to 1.7 million, up by 300,000, who earn up to the new limit.