The President assented to the Finance Act 2019 (the
Finance Act) on 7 November 2019. This followed
failure on the part of Parliament to raise the required quorum to
vote on the President's recommendation to repeal the interest
rate cap law.
A majority of the measures introduced under the Finance Act
entered into force upon presidential assent whilst other measures
will enter into force on 1 January 2020. These new tax measures
have continued the government's recent policy of maximising tax
revenue by increasing the applicable tax rates as well as expanding
the tax base and compliance and enforcement mechanisms.
At the time of the publication of the Finance Bill 2019, a
number of the measures proposed to be introduced were met with
opposition from stakeholders and the general public, largely due to
lack of clarity and the impact of the provisions on the ease of
doing business in Kenya. A number of these measures have been
dropped in the Finance Act including the
