{"id":114935,"date":"2026-05-04T08:08:46","date_gmt":"2026-05-04T05:08:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/?p=114935"},"modified":"2026-05-04T07:26:22","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T04:26:22","slug":"govt-proposes-5pc-tax-on-mitumba-imports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/2026\/05\/govt-proposes-5pc-tax-on-mitumba-imports\/","title":{"rendered":"Govt proposes 5pc tax on mitumba imports"},"content":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, May 4 – The government has proposed a new 5 percent tax on income from imported second-hand clothes, commonly known as mitumba, under the draft Finance Bill 2026.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The proposal, contained in amendments to the Income Tax Act, will apply to individuals importing worn clothing, footwear and related items classified under tariff heading 6309.<\/p>\n

If approved, the tax will be charged at the point of importation before goods are released and treated as a final tax, meaning importers will not claim further deductions.<\/p>\n

The move is part of a broader push by the Government of Kenya to expand the tax base, particularly within the informal sector and import trade.<\/p>\n

Analysts warn the proposal could push up prices of mitumba clothing, a key source of affordable wear for millions of Kenyans and a major livelihood for small traders.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If approved, the tax will be charged at the point of importation before goods are released and treated as a final tax, meaning importers will not claim further deductions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14381,"featured_media":114936,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[684,1,687],"tags":[934,7983,5115,4949,27913],"coauthors":[6664],"class_list":["post-114935","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gornment","category-kenya","category-top-stories","tag-featured","tag-govt","tag-imports","tag-mitumba","tag-proposes-tax"],"yoast_head":"\nGovt proposes 5pc tax on mitumba imports - Capital Business<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"If approved, the tax will be charged at the point of importation before goods are released and treated as a final tax, meaning importers will not claim further deductions. Kenya breaking news | Kenya news today |\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/2026\/05\/govt-proposes-5pc-tax-on-mitumba-imports\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Govt proposes 5pc tax on mitumba imports\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"If approved, the tax will be charged at the point of importation before goods are released and treated as a final tax, meaning importers will not claim further deductions. Kenya breaking news | Kenya news today |\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/2026\/05\/govt-proposes-5pc-tax-on-mitumba-imports\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Capital Business\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"http:\/\/facebook.com\/capitalfmkenya\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-04T05:08:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/files\/2026\/05\/images-2026-05-04T071225.052.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"678\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"452\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"KEVIN ROTICH\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@capitalfmkenya\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@capitalfmkenya\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"KEVIN ROTICH\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/2026\/05\/govt-proposes-5pc-tax-on-mitumba-imports\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/2026\/05\/govt-proposes-5pc-tax-on-mitumba-imports\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"KEVIN ROTICH\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/#\/schema\/person\/65b7806a62c00c754025592bcf3861bd\"},\"headline\":\"Govt proposes 5pc tax on mitumba imports\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-04T05:08:46+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/2026\/05\/govt-proposes-5pc-tax-on-mitumba-imports\/\"},\"wordCount\":142,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/2026\/05\/govt-proposes-5pc-tax-on-mitumba-imports\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/files\/2026\/05\/images-2026-05-04T071225.052.jpeg\",\"keywords\":[\"featured\",\"govt\",\"imports\",\"mitumba\",\"proposes tax\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Government\",\"Kenya\",\"Top Story\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/2026\/05\/govt-proposes-5pc-tax-on-mitumba-imports\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/2026\/05\/govt-proposes-5pc-tax-on-mitumba-imports\/\",\"name\":\"Govt proposes 5pc tax on mitumba imports - Capital Business\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/2026\/05\/govt-proposes-5pc-tax-on-mitumba-imports\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/2026\/05\/govt-proposes-5pc-tax-on-mitumba-imports\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/files\/2026\/05\/images-2026-05-04T071225.052.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-04T05:08:46+00:00\",\"description\":\"If approved, the tax will be charged at the point of importation before goods are released and treated as a final tax, meaning importers will not claim further deductions. Kenya breaking news | Kenya news today |\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/2026\/05\/govt-proposes-5pc-tax-on-mitumba-imports\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/2026\/05\/govt-proposes-5pc-tax-on-mitumba-imports\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/2026\/05\/govt-proposes-5pc-tax-on-mitumba-imports\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/files\/2026\/05\/images-2026-05-04T071225.052.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/files\/2026\/05\/images-2026-05-04T071225.052.jpeg\",\"width\":678,\"height\":452},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/2026\/05\/govt-proposes-5pc-tax-on-mitumba-imports\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Govt proposes 5pc tax on mitumba imports\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/\",\"name\":\"Capital Business\",\"description\":\"Kenya breaking news | Kenya news today |\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Capital FM Kenya\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/files\/2017\/08\/cfm-logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/files\/2017\/08\/cfm-logo.png\",\"width\":81,\"height\":65,\"caption\":\"Capital FM Kenya\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/facebook.com\/capitalfmkenya\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/capitalfmkenya\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/capitalfmkenya\/\",\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/capitalfmkenya\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/#\/schema\/person\/65b7806a62c00c754025592bcf3861bd\",\"name\":\"KEVIN ROTICH\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/1f4c5d48587fab97d3454f8a357e854a\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8efe9b02220e5430f9cd5b9c6e8a65ca42ef94757cb5e2cee97961988048da55?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8efe9b02220e5430f9cd5b9c6e8a65ca42ef94757cb5e2cee97961988048da55?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"KEVIN ROTICH\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/author\/kevinrotich\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Govt proposes 5pc tax on mitumba imports - Capital Business","description":"If approved, the tax will be charged at the point of importation before goods are released and treated as a final tax, meaning importers will not claim further deductions. Kenya breaking news | Kenya news today |","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/2026\/05\/govt-proposes-5pc-tax-on-mitumba-imports\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Govt proposes 5pc tax on mitumba imports","og_description":"If approved, the tax will be charged at the point of importation before goods are released and treated as a final tax, meaning importers will not claim further deductions. Kenya breaking news | Kenya news today |","og_url":"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/2026\/05\/govt-proposes-5pc-tax-on-mitumba-imports\/","og_site_name":"Capital Business","article_publisher":"http:\/\/facebook.com\/capitalfmkenya","article_published_time":"2026-05-04T05:08:46+00:00","og_image":[{"width":678,"height":452,"url":"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/files\/2026\/05\/images-2026-05-04T071225.052.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"KEVIN ROTICH","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@capitalfmkenya","twitter_site":"@capitalfmkenya","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"KEVIN ROTICH","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/2026\/05\/govt-proposes-5pc-tax-on-mitumba-imports\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/2026\/05\/govt-proposes-5pc-tax-on-mitumba-imports\/"},"author":{"name":"KEVIN ROTICH","@id":"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/#\/schema\/person\/65b7806a62c00c754025592bcf3861bd"},"headline":"Govt proposes 5pc tax on mitumba imports","datePublished":"2026-05-04T05:08:46+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/2026\/05\/govt-proposes-5pc-tax-on-mitumba-imports\/"},"wordCount":142,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/2026\/05\/govt-proposes-5pc-tax-on-mitumba-imports\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/files\/2026\/05\/images-2026-05-04T071225.052.jpeg","keywords":["featured","govt","imports","mitumba","proposes tax"],"articleSection":["Government","Kenya","Top Story"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/2026\/05\/govt-proposes-5pc-tax-on-mitumba-imports\/","url":"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/2026\/05\/govt-proposes-5pc-tax-on-mitumba-imports\/","name":"Govt proposes 5pc tax on mitumba imports - Capital Business","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/2026\/05\/govt-proposes-5pc-tax-on-mitumba-imports\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/2026\/05\/govt-proposes-5pc-tax-on-mitumba-imports\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/files\/2026\/05\/images-2026-05-04T071225.052.jpeg","datePublished":"2026-05-04T05:08:46+00:00","description":"If approved, the tax will be charged at the point of importation before goods are released and treated as a final tax, meaning importers will not claim further deductions. Kenya breaking news | Kenya news today |","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/2026\/05\/govt-proposes-5pc-tax-on-mitumba-imports\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/2026\/05\/govt-proposes-5pc-tax-on-mitumba-imports\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/2026\/05\/govt-proposes-5pc-tax-on-mitumba-imports\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/files\/2026\/05\/images-2026-05-04T071225.052.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/files\/2026\/05\/images-2026-05-04T071225.052.jpeg","width":678,"height":452},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/2026\/05\/govt-proposes-5pc-tax-on-mitumba-imports\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Govt proposes 5pc tax on mitumba imports"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/","name":"Capital Business","description":"Kenya breaking news | Kenya news today |","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/#organization","name":"Capital FM Kenya","url":"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/files\/2017\/08\/cfm-logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/files\/2017\/08\/cfm-logo.png","width":81,"height":65,"caption":"Capital FM Kenya"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/facebook.com\/capitalfmkenya","https:\/\/x.com\/capitalfmkenya","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/capitalfmkenya\/","http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/capitalfmkenya"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/#\/schema\/person\/65b7806a62c00c754025592bcf3861bd","name":"KEVIN ROTICH","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/1f4c5d48587fab97d3454f8a357e854a","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8efe9b02220e5430f9cd5b9c6e8a65ca42ef94757cb5e2cee97961988048da55?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8efe9b02220e5430f9cd5b9c6e8a65ca42ef94757cb5e2cee97961988048da55?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"KEVIN ROTICH"},"url":"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/author\/kevinrotich\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114935","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14381"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=114935"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114935\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/114936"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=114935"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=114935"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=114935"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=114935"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}