According to the article, KRA wants free access to all bank accounts without necessarily getting a court order.
The propose this in the finance bill.

I take it to mean, they can just go peeking at every account, and compare it with your tax return (or lack thereof).

Is this even constitutional? Right to privacy?
How about harassment. Imagine some KRA agent just looking at your bank a/c. All that power.

Will it lead to capital flight? Will wanjiku who banks at equity and sells milk put money under her mattress to avoid explaining her account?
Will nakumatt run out of mattresses?
Will politicians even vote for this? Imagine all the kickbacks they get. They will have to keep money at their homes and lobby for more bodyguards to protect their homes where they stash their loot.

Is it rectoactive? How will akina Moi and others explain their bank statements?

KRA seeks free access to taxpayer's bank accounts

This clause in that bill will never see the light of day.MPs,Wanjiku,banks,governors, senators and all other shady officials in public and private sector will be on same side opposing the bill.

Where i live, these local KRA guys have access to my account if they want thay just have to contact the bank. Its not only the KRA guys.Once one signs a job contract, to make sure you are paid,company verification, they have to get your bank account details.Actually there is what they call house allowance, aid to children (to sum it all , any money given to you from the state) is accessible online and from your account.
This happens incase you say you are unable to pay some creditors and even a "auctioneer" just goes to a judge and is given access to your bank account, the money you owe will be paid monthly ,you just agree on the amont and the period.
So unless you work in black market and paid in cash, utapatikana. This is usually used incase of divorce where one has to pay child support wanakata at the source.
So unless Mpigs think they will be affected, its not a big deal to apply. They will not look at 5 million bank accounts.Its only suspects and these suspects are thru denouncing from neighbours, unhappy spouses etc

It is common knowledge that KRA officers are very different from the US IRS. Their objective in such access will mostly be to siphon money from you. In fact if, for example they find out that you owe KRA Ksh. 5m, they will ask you to pay KRA 500,000 and you give them 2m to clear you and in order to accomplish that, they will overrate the taxes owed, then blackmail you. And many people are not aware that you can apply for amnesty for penalties owed which will be the first thing the investigators use to blackmail people.. So, I personally would not support such an idea. Let them apply when necessary in their work, not a blanket access to any account.

As much as i personally don't like the proposed bill,the bigger picture looks colorful.

A good law for the country but painful to the concerned citizenry.

I oppose this bill ab initio . KRA officials are the most corrupt police department trailing them in the vice. That is a strategy to swindle/extort money from innocent Kenyans who don't understand the law properly. I can only support that idea if courts are involved that Wanjiko can move to corridors of justice to obtain an injunction.

1. Agree on corruption
2. Nice balance in account or property will be equal to a KRA audit.
3. How will they enforce the same on MPs and power brokers who have the most side hustles?

This KRA regime is one of the least imaginative; several failures: from taxes on landlords, to random withholding agents, to capital gains tax.

They desperately made tax avoidance (as opposed to evasion) illegal, making other African countries attractive for foreign head offices.

Below target yet again. New thinking is required to stimulate Kenyans to pay tax.

We need another Opus Dei in KRA ndio haki itendeke. The current KRA leadership is incompetent to see viable popular actions.