NAIROBI, Kenya- President William Ruto has proposed exempting workers earning Sh32,333 or less per month from Pay As You Earn (PAYE), as part of three measures he says are intended to ease household costs and widen access to property and digital services.
Ruto made the announcements on Tuesday, October 20, during the 2026 Mashujaa Day celebrations at Kipchoge Keino Stadium in Eldoret.
He said the proposals would be taken through the necessary legislative, fiscal and administrative processes, meaning they will not take effect immediately.
The PAYE proposal would remove income tax from workers within the stated monthly income limit.
PAYE is tax that employers deduct from employees’ earnings and remit to the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA).
KRA’s published guidance says employment income is currently taxed under individual tax bands ranging from 10 per cent to 35 per cent.
Ruto said the exemption was intended to leave workers on modest incomes with more money for household needs.
He did not give a projected number of beneficiaries or estimate how much tax revenue the proposed change would cost the Treasury.
The President also announced a proposed stamp duty exemption for land transactions valued at Sh1 million or less.
The National Treasury has developed plans for progressive rates on higher-value transactions, he said, but did not outline what those rates would be or when the proposed changes could begin.
Stamp duty is a tax charged on certain legal documents, including those used to transfer property.
The proposal could lower the transaction cost for some buyers and sellers, but its impact will depend on the final rules, including how the value of a transaction is assessed and how the progressive rates are designed.
A third proposal is to remove the 25 per cent import duty on mobile phones. Ruto said reducing the duty would make phones more affordable and help more people access digital services.
He described mobile devices as tools for education, business, banking and work.
The changes would require the relevant government processes to be completed.
Ruto said the PAYE proposals would be presented to Parliament beginning the following week.
