President Ruto: I am happy that we have all agreed to pay taxes

President Ruto, speaking during a church service at Deliverance Church International in Ruai, Nairobi on Sunday, said that he is now pleased with the decision from "all Kenyans" to pay taxes, reiterating that no Kenyan will be exempted from paying their fair share of taxes.

"I am happy that as a country we have agreed and built consensus that irrespective of your status or all other considerations, whatever region and religion you have come from, we have agreed that there will be no waiver of taxes for anybody. We have agreed that everyone will pay their taxes," he said.

"And I am now happy that together as a nation we have unified our thoughts that we will pay our taxes in accordance with our salaries. It is the best consensus we can have as a nation and it is the path that will help us pay our national debt."

The Head of State defended his passionate push for having a candid tax payment model, arguing that the easiest way to offset the nation from its burdening debt is if revenue collection is seamless and accountable. 

"The remedy to solve the debt burden is to pay taxes and become independent in developing the nation with our own money and even get to a point where instead of borrowing we will be lending to other nations. That is the trajectory we want to go,' he noted.

President Ruto also noted that he will soon issue a notice barring government agencies from taking the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) to court due to taxation arrears, advising that all matters should be solved out of court. 

"There will be a circular that all government agencies cannot take KRA to court. If there is a challenge let there be discussions between the various agencies and settle the matter out of court. We cannot be using public money to go to court."

This comes amid a standoff with the Kenyatta family over allegations that they have not been paying taxes to the national taxman. 

On Saturday, former First Lady Mama Ngina Kenyatta broke the silence and termed the standoff as pointless politicization of tax matters, which can be addressed through government channels.

She added that politicians are peddling lies so that they can be seen to be working, noting that if it is indeed true that she has not been paying her taxes then her property should be sold.