More than 50 people were killed when the youth-led marches broke out last June, forcing President William Ruto to abandon tax hikes worth $2.68 billion, and causing a delay to funding from the International Monetary Fund.

"The finance bill doesn't have to always adjust tax rates upwards," John Mbadi, the Finance Minister, told a televised meeting late on Tuesday.

"The finance bill of this year is more on tax administration and trying to seal the loopholes and also make tax collection efficient."

The government has sent a finance bill, which is usually the government's vehicle for amending laws to maximise revenue collection, to parliament for passage, part of the process towards the 2025/26 (July-June) budget presentation next month.

It has also sent spending proposals that set the total expenditure at about 4 trillion shillings to parliament for debate and approval, including a budget deficit of 4.5% of GDP.

--Reuters--