Housing Levy to Be Refunded to Teachers  and Civil Servants 

Housing Levy to Be Refunded to Teachers and Civil Servants 

Housing Levy to Be Refunded to Teachers and Civil Servants 

After the Kenya Kwanza government’s  proposed housing fee was declared  unlawful by the High Court, teachers and  other paid employees would receive raises.

They will also receive payment for the arrears of the housing levy that were withheld  from their paystubs from July to November of 2023.

Justice David Majanja said that the court concluded that the levy violated  Article 10, 2(a) of the constitution during the hearing of petitions contesting the  Finance Act 2023.

Majanja claims that the housing levy change to section 84 was unfair to people who  have formal employment because it was introduced without a thorough legal  foundation.

Justice Majanja, alongside judges Lawrence Mugambi and Christine Meoli, ordered the cessation of further levy collection and declared sections 84, 72 to 78 of the Finance Act null and void. The court granted an order prohibiting the collection of the charge known as the affordable housing act.

The housing levy, a crucial aspect of the Finance Act, had been deducted from formally employed Kenyans since July, with the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) assigned as the collecting agent. Employers had been contributing 1.5 percent alongside a similar rate for their employees.

The charge was justified by the government as a way to pay for the building of  reasonably priced homes for Kenyans with modest incomes. After being approved by parliament on June 22, 2023, and signed into law by  President William Ruto on June 26, the Finance Bill 2023 was placed on hold by the  High Court on June 30 as a result of many petitions.

Later, on July 29, the Court of Appeal lifted the suspension. This prompted Senator  Okiya Omtatah of Busia and six other individuals to call for a hearing on  September 13 to discuss stopping the Finance Act 2023’s implementation.