Speaking on Thursday, November 12, 2026, the lawmaker—who sponsored the landmark Persons with Disabilities Act of 2025—expressed strong opposition to KRA’s plans to introduce tiered exemption bands based on medical severity classifications.
Under KRA’s draft guidelines, applicants seeking tax relief on monthly incomes up to Ksh150,000 would no longer automatically qualify for uniform full relief.
Instead, exemptions would be graded between 30 percent, 50 percent, 60 percent, and 100 percent depending on whether a visual, hearing, physical, speech, or intellectual impairment is classified as moderate, severe, or profound.
Asige strongly opposed grading disabilities into severity percentages, arguing that the framework contradicts the human-rights-based approach enshrined in Kenyan law and arbitrarily strips critical financial cushion from thousands of working citizens and parents caring for children with disabilities.
Furthermore, the senator questioned KRA’s proposed Ksh1,000 application fee and stringent bureaucratic requirements, which mandate specialist medical reports from government facilities, employer introductory letters, and physical appearances before an assessment committee.
Asige maintained that erecting costly administrative hurdles defeats the very purpose of affirmative action and social protection.
She urged the tax authority and the National Treasury to withdraw the punitive clauses during public participation, insisting that tax policies must empower rather than penalize Kenyans living with disabilities.
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https://peopledaily.digital/inside-politics/crystal-asige-questions-kra-over-new-tax-rules-for-persons-with-disabilities
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