Nairobi, May 26 -- The annual finance bill usually amends the primary tax laws - the Income Tax, Value Added Tax , Excise Duty, Tax procedures, Miscellaneous Fees and Levies, and Stamp Duty Acts.

The changes are often driven by the practical outcomes of tax administration, both from the tax authority and tax practitioners, including disputes that arise in these processes. This latter fact elicited a recent click bait of a headline in a leading daily - "how KRA fights triggered fresh taxes in finance bill".

Listening to most commentary and debate on the finance bill, I am struck by three things. First, the predominant focus on the finance bill at the expense of all the other critical budget steps that come before and alongside it.

Secon...