Nairobi, Jan. 4 -- From the United States to Saudi Arabia, new taxes are threatening to derail diaspora remittances to Kenya in 2026, unsettling an increasingly important source of foreign exchange.

The United States, Kenya's top source of remittances, has introduced a one percent excise tax on money sent abroad, effectively raising the cost of sending funds back home from January 1.

The US accounts for more than half of Kenya's diaspora remittances, with inflows of Sh33.8 billion in October, of the total transfers of Sh56.6 billion.

The new tax could reduce both the size and frequency of remittances flowing back to Kenya.

Analysts have projected that even with certain exemptions, the tax could reduce remittances from the US by at lea...