4.4 million people filed taxes this year, compared to 3.6 million people who filed in 2019. KRA attributes the growth in tax filings to investment in the iTax system.
In the last fifteen days of June, KRA extended the working hours across its support centers and Huduma centers countrywide to ease the filing burden on taxpayers. For instance, iTax includes an auto-populated return for taxpayers with employment income as the only source of income thus improving the user experience.
Shortfall in Revenue
The latest data from the treasury reveals that the taxman netted KSh1.33 trillion in tax revenues as 29 May 2020. Treasury predicts that the Kenya Revenue authority will miss the revenue collection target in the financial year 2019/2020. The dusk to dawn curfew introduced in March, restrictions on movement in and out of the two major cities, and slow economic growth are expected to adversely affect tax revenue.
During the Budget2020/21 address, Treasury CS Ukur Yattani noted that tax revenue is estimated to reduce slightly to KSh1.621 trillion in FY 2020/21 compared to the target of KSh1.64 trillion in FY2019/20.
READ ALSO: Treasury Faces an Uphill Task to Meet FY19/20 Revenue Targets
Among the drivers that will increase the tax collection in the coming year include the newly set up special digital business to track revenues for digital business. The new Finance Law introduced a 1.5 percent digital tax on digital transactions.
In addition, a raft of tax measures introduced seek to raise additional revenues such as taxation on helicopter services, classification of items from exempt to standard rated.
The Court of Appeal restored KRA’s power to snoop taxpayers Mpesa and bank accounts to smoke out tax cheats.
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