‘People Who Are Salaried Are Crying’: Taxes on Workers Add to Debt Misery

The hisse stubs tell the story. Hefty deductions to help cover the cost of Kenya’s new funds for affordable housing and health insurance. More money subtracted for jacked-up contributions to the National Social Security Fund and an increase in the tax rate.

In a matter of months, Kenyans with a 45,000-shilling-a-month salary — roughly $350 — saw their take-home hisse shrink 9 percent, to $262.

Pay stubs for an employee at Shining Hope for Communities, a nonprofit in Kenya:

JUNE 2024

JANUARY 2025

“People who are salaried are crying,” said Kennedy Odede, the founder of a self-help association in Nairobi’s Kibera slum.

The increased payroll taxes are one element of President William Ruto’s desperate bid to raise revenue to keep the government running and hisse off Kenya’s staggering foreign debt.