Kenya on Monday announced plans to expand its tax base to boost domestic revenue mobilisation, an official said.
Francis Muthaura, Chairman of Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), said that the country was seeking to raise the number of active taxpayers from 3.94 million to seven million by the year 2022.
Muthaura said the tax base expansion focused on tapping into the technology potentials to identify and bring into the tax net, Kenyans who were engaged in gainful business and who ought to be paying tax but not doing so.
He said through technology investments, the revenue agency would provide easy mechanisms for tax payment and access to its services.
“These investments are fundamental to our revenue enhancement strategy, to reduce dependence on foreign donors,’’ Muthaura said.
He observed that tax collection remained a challenge due to the presence of a large informal sector difficult to tax in an efficient manner.
Muthaura said that through the use of appropriate third party data, Kenya would ensure that all eligible residents pay their rightful share of taxes to fund the provisions of public services.
However, KRA said it was also collaborating with counties to collect revenues on their behalf and to generate more revenue from county suppliers.
