KRA now seeks to monitor transactions by telcos

The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) Commissioner General Githii Mburu says the tax authority will no longer rely on tax declarations made by the telco companies.

He says that, instead, they will set up their own systems to monitor the transactions of the telcos so that they can remit taxes based on their transactions on a daily basis.

Mburu stated that they had deployed a similar system in the betting industry which has seen tax collections from the sector increase by more than 50 per cent.

He said that this will help the government reach the Ksh.3 trillion revenue collection target in the next financial year.

“We do not want to rely on the information given to us by the telcos. We want to go in there and see for ourselves so that the deduction can be done on a daily basis," Mburu said.

The Commissioner General also reiterated the proposal outlined in the draft budget policy statement which seeks to accord KRA access to individuals' transactions on mobile money platforms in a bid to bring more individuals into the tax bracket.

“We will also use this technology to monitor the people on the telcos to determine what taxes they will contribute depending on their transactions,” he added.

“We have already deployed the technology in the betting sector and we have witnessed massive gains. We expect this to happen in the telcos as well.”

Mburu says they are aware of the revenue demands by the National Treasury and the set target of Ksh.3 trillion which they are expected to collect in the next financial year.

He added that intensifying tax collections will ease the burden on government borrowing.

“We are aware of the demands from the government and collecting what we are expected to collect will ensure that we ease the burden on government borrowings,” Mburu noted.

The KRA boss was speaking during World International Customs Day where he praised his team for surpassing their half-year targets of Ksh.728 billion.

He also said that they have intensified surveillance to seal all loopholes and that has increased revenue collections and helped them nab illicit goods that were on their way into the country.