KRA Seeks To List Tax Evaders, Defaulters On CRB

The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) is seeking approval to have all tax defaulters listed with the Credit Reference Bureau (CRB).

Appearing on Monday before the Finance Parliamentary Committee, Commissioner General John Njiraini said most of its revenue is held in debt.

According to Njiraini, the new move will help the tax man improve revenue collection.

“A legal framework to enable us to deal with defaulters which will help us collect a lot of revenue from tax cheats,” Njiraini said.

“We propose CRB listing of non-compliant taxpayers to be based on criteria that would be fair and equitable to all tax payers.”

The proposal comes at a time when the tax man is yet to meet revenue collection targets set for the current financial year by Treasury.

According to local media reports, KRA is behind on tax collection by Sh55 billion.

Last year, KRA managed Sh1.37 trillion against a Sh4.45 trillion target.

According to the officer, the authority has not been able to meet set targets due to poor funding, adding that although revenue collection targets have been increasing every year, funding to the agency has stagnated for the past five years.

Further, in a move targeted at maximizing revenue, Njiraini proposed to raise exercise duty on betting by 10 percent to 25 percent.

Read: KRA Clarifies Claims On Abolishing of Annual Returns, Confirms Systems Were Made Simpler

Last year, the government reconsidered a move to increase betting exercise duty to 35 percent after pressure from betting firms. The government revised the tax to 15 percent.

KRA is also seeking legal provision to allow access to third party information.

According to Njiraini, the information will be used to address the current legal frame work on sharing information related to revenue collection and ultimately enhance compliance levels among Kenyans.

Email your news TIPS to Editor@kahawatungu.com or WhatsApp +254707482874. You can also find us on Telegram through www.t.me/kahawatungu