Kenyan court strikes down housing levy in finance law

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya's High Court on Tuesday declared unconstitutional a 1.5% housing levy imposed as part of a finance law adopted in June.

Government lawyers immediately asked the court for a 45-day stay of the order while it assesses next steps. The ruling can be appealed.

The finance law, which also doubled the fuel tax and increased the top income tax rate, sparked deadly protests in July.

(Reporting by Humphrey Malalo; Writing by Bhargav Acharya; Editing by Aaron Ross)