Finally, Kenyans have a chance to peruse, examine and otherwise study the 2025 Finance Bill; published in the week in which the BBC’s Blood Parliament documentary reminded us of the 2024 Finance Bill protests. 

The National Treasury and now Parliament are engaging with citizens, while the Cabinet dispatch preceding the Bill’s release spoke to “closing loopholes and enhancing efficiency…while seeking to minimize tax-raising measures”.  Will this year’s public participation and media engagement get us a proper debate on “winners and losers” in each tax change?

Let’s park the Finance Bill for another day, and consider the wider context for Budget 2025.  A starting point might be the contemporary official view that Kenyans celebrate failure over success; that we are too negative. In response, Kenyans might argue this regime’s style as an unpredictable pendulum swinging between promising policy adventure and depraved primitive accumulation.