Kenyan lawmakers oppose tax authority's bid for unrestricted data access
NAIROBI, June 17 (Reuters) - Kenya's parliamentary finance committee has rejected a proposal to grant the country's revenue authority unrestricted access to taxpayers' data, citing privacy concerns and constitutional safeguards, a report published late on Monday said.
The provision, included in this year's finance bill, drew public backlash over alleged privacy violations.
The committee said that current laws already allow the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) to access financial data with a court warrant, rendering the proposal unnecessary.
"In light of these existing safeguards, the committee concluded that the proposed provision is both unnecessary and potentially unconstitutional," the report said.
Finance Minister John Mbadi has defended the measure, saying it would help curb tax evasion, particularly by wealthy individuals exploiting legal protections to conceal financial information.
Mbadi was not immediately available to comment on the committee's decision.
President William Ruto's government, which took office in 2022, has been trying to increase tax collection to help keep up with growing debt repayments.
Last year's finance bill was followed by deadly riots against tax increases. Mbadi has said the government will not impose new taxes or raise existing ones in this year's bill.
The bill, however, aims to raise an extra 30 billion shillings ($233 million), mainly through boosting tax compliance.
The provision is necessary to allow the KRA access to financial information belonging to businesses and individuals, to help its officials detect any tax evasion, the minister had said.
The government is under pressure to avoid a repeat of unrest over revenue measures after last year's protests against proposed tax hikes led to over 50 deaths and forced Ruto to abandon plans to raise 346 billion shillings in taxes.
Lawmakers are expected to vote on the bill before it is sent to Ruto for approval.
($1 = 128.9500 Kenyan shillings)
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