Nairobi — Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi has downplayed concerns over degradation of pay slips of salaried Kenyans through increased deductions.

Mbadi argued the tax laws introduced by the Treasury in December in 2024 are an improvement over those implemented by the previous administration.

"We have actually improved people's pay slips; it's only that sometimes we exaggerate discussions about pay slips getting thinner," he told NTV's Fixing The Nation on Monday.

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The Mbadi-led Treasury introduced changes governing deductions for the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) and the Housing Levy--changes that critics argue are further straining the already stretched pay slips of Kenyan taxpayers.

These changes include deducting SHIF and the Housing Levy from workers' gross salaries before taxation, a departure from the previous system that provided a 15 percent tax relief on these contributions.

Over the weekend, former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua criticized the government, claiming it was over-taxing Kenyan workers, thereby reducing their pay slips and weakening their purchasing power.

Gachagua vowed to "restore the dignity" of Kenyan workers' earnings, pledging that a future administration under his leadership would reverse these changes.

However, Mbadi refuted Gachagua's claims, asserting that his remarks were misleading and failed to acknowledge the positive aspects of the new tax system.

Mbadi insisted the new tax laws had reduced the overall tax burden on taxpayers.