The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA)is actively utilising technological solutions, including social media monitoring tools, to ensure individuals pay the right taxes and also file returns.
According to KRA Deputy Commissioner in charge of Marketing and Communications Ms Grace Wandera, the taxman has already adopted Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Data Mining contemporary technologies, to support its tax collection strategies.
The Authority has confirmed a steady rise in the number of individual taxpayers rushing to verify their tax compliance status.
“Within the confines of the law, we do apply social media scans among other technological tax compliance surveillance systems. We have already seen a more than 60% rise in the number of tax compliance certificates applications lodged on the online i-Tax platform,” said Ms Wandera.
She explained that the adoption of technological solutions to complement traditional revenue collection tools is geared at enhanced compliance efforts that focus on ensuring taxpayers file returns and pay correct taxes.
KRA’s 8th Corporate Plan targets and theme
Under the 8th KRA Corporate Plan, it is expected that the exchequer revenue will rise from KSh 1.76 trillion in 2021/22 to KSh 2.5 trillion in 2023/24. This plan is designed to accelerate revenue collections and plug revenue losses and rides on the theme: Revenue Mobilisation Through Tax Simplification, Technology-driven Compliance and Tax Base Expansion.
The Authority attributes its impressive performance last month where it collected KSh 154.4 Billion against a target of KSh 142.3 Billion, a performance of 108.5%, to its enhanced compliance efforts.
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